“Stand down? You want that washout to take the helm?” Li screamed, throwing a datapad across the battle bridge. “The Deadwalkers are slowing their advance. In another eight hours we’ll—“
“—lose all of Xeith. Urusous, you are on temporary hold from duty,” Minister Razar said.
“This is insanity!” Li jabbed his finger at the blue and black image of the chancellor on the holosim conference display. “Have the Deadwalkers rewired your brain, Reamon? Unipoesa is a burnout!”
“Stand down, Li, you’re embarrassing yourself,” Unipoesa replied calmly. He ran a hand across his mouth to stifle what he really wanted to say. “You don’t want to have the guards take you down to your own brig, would you?”
Chancellor Reamon looked around at them nervously. Unipoesa’s heart sank. Li was not stupid; he would pick up on the lack of synchrony and realize that it was not a decision supported by the General Assembly. A bitter taste filled his mouth as Li signaled his camera crews to resume filming.
“You’re going to divide the Alliance at a time like this? You would really ask your best commander to stand down in the middle of the greatest war in the history of the Starways?”
Old anxieties fluttered to life beneath his rib cage. Hold it together, he chided himself, glancing at the bottle of vodka by the edge of his desk. “You’re losing that war, Li. Now is not the time for pride.”
Li’s face flushed. “Funny thing you should mention that to me, Damon. But let’s go with that. Pride. How about another round of the Endgame? I’ll put my Vice in charge for the ten minutes it’ll take to destroy your worthless assino. And while I’m playing you, I hope you keep an eye on the body count—those are the lives you’re spending on your wounded pride.”
Out of the corner of his eye, Unipoesa caught the Minister moving restlessly in his chair. He hated Li for being right about his abilities, but he despised himself more for creating the situation.
“We don’t have time for that,” the Minister said. “I order you to stand down, Li.”
“No—wait,” Chancellor Reamon squeaked out. “I-I can’t condone this without some sort of assurance.”
“Assurance?” the Minister exclaimed.
“Yes—after all, with the admiral’s history—we shouldn’t be so rash.”
The chancellor’s words felt like hot coals in his gut. “Fine. I’ll patch into Li’s simulator on deck five for an Endgame match. Countdown is set for twenty minutes, Li. Now, do I have your word that you’ll stand down after your defeat?”
Li’s eyes widened with rage, but his voice turned cold and strangely emotionless. “After I beat you, I’ll make sure you spend the rest of your days in a geriatric lockdown.”
Damon Unipoesa smiled humorlessly and terminated the link to Li and Chancellor Reamon. “Maybe we’ll keep warm for just one night,” he sighed, reaching for the bottle of vodka. Fear, anxiety, and regret had strung him out for too long to care what he said anymore.
The Minister shook his head and with a tone of solemnity replied, “Good luck, Admiral. You’ll need it.”
***
Jaeia felt something nagging at the admiral’s thoughts. She watched him closely as they followed him to the simulator that would connect them to Urusous Li’s terminal. Even though the admiral carefully controlled his feelings around them, a very strong emotion bubbled just under the surface of his psyche.
For it to be this noticeable, it must be really upsetting, she realized. As the admiral began instructing them on the Endgame, she promised to revisit the observation later.
“I know you two were exposed to the Endgame at the Dominion Core Academy.”
“You could say that,” Jetta said.
The admiral ignored her sarcasm. “It actually has a fascinating history. About 1,100 years ago, a brilliant but troubled young man from Old Earth named Martin Stein constructed the Endgame as part of his graduate school thesis. Even though Stein claimed to create the game for anti-war purposes, the U.S. military used his programming to centralize its forces during the Last Great War.”
“Thereby contributing to the fall of Earth,” Jetta interjected.
Frustration appeared only briefly across the admiral’s brow before he continued. “Despite the holocaust, the schematics survived with those making the Exodus. What happened after that is still a mystery. The game reemerged during the formation of the United Starways Coalition and quickly became the final for military school graduates. Those wanting to gain higher rank played each other for prestige.”
Jaeia’s eyebrows rose. “I had no idea it had terrestrial origins.”
The admiral smiled politely. “Unfortunately, it’s not too hard to believe, coming from one of the Stein brothers. The human race has always been divided, but those two gave humanity the means to destroy themselves.”
Without elaborating on the other Stein brother, Unipoesa turned their attention to the simulator. “In this match you’ll have a standard sample of game pieces which you can control through projected keystroke or voice command. I will go through that with you after I show you your console here,” he said, pointing to the terminal out of range of the camera that would televise the showdown. “It is connected to mine by short-link. My terminal is dead, so anything I type in is inconsequential.”
Unipoesa reviewed the keyboard and keystrokes with them, but neither of them needed any reminders.
I wish I could forget, Jetta relayed silently to her.
“I’m sorry there isn’t more time to let you practice. Do you have that, then?”
“Yes,” Jaeia said quietly.
“Which one of you will be playing?” he asked, wiping the sweat off of his forehead.
Jetta withdrew from the conversation, leaving Jaeia to answer for them. “We both will.”
Jaeia put on her best smile and tried to draw attention away from her anxious twin. In the back of her mind, she could sense Jetta’s conflict as the contest stirred dysphoric memories.
“Don’t worry,” Jaeia said, seeing the look on the admiral’s face. “We’re used to playing together.”
The admiral gave them a terse nod and moved to the inactive terminal on display. Jaeia moved to the active simulator outside the cameras’ range and readied herself at the keyboard.
Come by me, she thought, coaxing her twin over with a subtle motion of her hand. Jetta was slow to respond, her eyes losing focus as an invisible force drew her inward. When Jetta took her place next to her, Jaeia could feel her sister’s turmoil without any extrasensory perception.
“Now I will prove to the Starways that I am, without a doubt, the rightful fleet commander by defeating you once again. I’ll even grant you the advantage of initiating the game,” Li proclaimed on the monitors, flashing an arrogant smile in full view of the cameras. Unipoesa sighed and indicated with a raise of his finger for the twins to start the game.
Jaeia extended herself into Jetta’s mind, trying to calm her thoughts. Jetta, she called, please, I need you.
Li cut into their territory right away, sending three of his battleships directly into their front lines. Jaeia retreated her fighters and formed a new perimeter around the targeted ground troops.
Jetta, I can’t do this without you, she begged.
Jetta stared at the display. “A classic defense would be the four point Hart-Morrei. I think I used it when we... invaded...”
Jetta stopped short. Jaeia saw charred swaths of land and scattered remains of dead bodies. Ruined buildings still burned in the blood-tinged sky.
“Jetta, stop,” Jaeia whispered, squeezing her eyes shut to push out her sister’s imagination.
“It was real... it was all real...” Jetta mumbled.
Jaeia commanded several land-to-air units to draw fire away from the main warship. It would distract Li for a few moments, but not for long. Jetta had to fully engage with her or they would lose.
Unipoesa looked up at her, frustration and fear creasing his face. He saw their hesitation.
/> “Jetta—you don’t think I remember?” Jaeia whispered. She loosened her grip on her thoughts, letting Jetta feel the betrayal and violation that had been her whole world back on the Core ships. “I know what we learned and what happened to us is all the same to you right now, but you have to focus on playing this game.”
When Jaeia closed her eyes and tapped into her sister’s memories, a vortex of pain and confusion assaulted her senses. Core soldiers laughing at them, calling them leeches, launnies, Deadskins, Fiorahian rats. Stealing knowledge from Dominion officers, but imprinting their essence, too. That thing with the burning red eye. The strange elation of victory. Losing time. Losing perspective. Losing themselves. Where’s Jahx?
“Stop.” Jaeia’s arms dropped to her sides as she pulled out of Jetta’s mind. Several game pieces disintegrated on the screen as she clutched her head, trying to make sense of it all. Li’s forces advanced again, tipping the score; they were unquestionably losing now.
Is it all a lie? Are we killing real soldiers—real people—again? she asked herself.
Jaeia looked around, sensing the desperation behind the hard faces of the Alliance officers. This is not the same. They’re anxious, not eager. It’s the difference between survival and reward.
Jaeia took a deep breath. “We can do this, Jetta.”
Jetta tugged at the neck of sweat-soaked shirt, struggling to breathe.
She’s the strategist; her instincts for battle are much better than mine. If we’re going to win this, I have to calm my sister down.
“It’s not real,” Jaeia whispered into her Jetta’s ear.
Jetta wiped her forehead and whispered, “I feel angry. And empty.”
Jaeia stomach knotted. “Please, Jetta. If we win this, we’ll have the chance to redeem ourselves.”
Jetta bowed her head. “I’m sorry, Jaeia. You’re right. I’m just...”
Jaeia reached over and took her sister’s hand in hers. You don’t have to say it, Jetta. I understand. Just remember—there’s nothing you and I can’t do together. Trust me.
To Jaeia’s relief, she felt her twin’s tension ease a little, enough that she took control of the game pieces, rejoining her sister for the counterattack.
Jaeia smiled as Jetta took down Li’s pieces one by one. Even in the worst conditions her sister saw new offensive angles better than anybody she had ever encountered. She didn’t know whether it was the commanders and specialists Jetta had absorbed from, or something unique to her, but either way, combined with Jaeia’s intuition and defensive capabilities, the game turned.
He’s been fighting as if he’s already won, Jaeia silently told her sister as she rallied another complement of their forces to a different location. The tiny blue pieces marched back across the spherical playing field toward a greater complement of soldiers hiding behind a natural obstacle.
You can tell he’s used to winning. He’s sloppy, and he underestimates us. This is actually sort of fun! Jetta responded. Jaeia took her eyes off the game for a moment to enjoy the devilish smile spreading across her sister’s face.
As she briefly delighted in the old Jetta, Li commanded his green pieces swiftly and fluidly toward their test targets along the border of their territory.
I can see why he advanced so quickly, Jaeia said as several green pieces enveloped one of their decoys.
He’s fast and he talks pretty, but he doesn’t pay attention to his back lines or his secondary defenses. Do you see that?
Immediately Jaeia spied the opening. Listening to each other’s thoughts and exchanging jocular commentary, they formulated their battle plan.
Ten years from now, he’ll still be wondering where it came from, Jetta joked as she typed in the command for their hidden pieces to resurface.
Li’s army approached another one of their decoys. Thinking he could simply overpower their small group of visible blue pieces with an all-out assault, he spread himself too thin among their scattering pieces. Their fleet’s deceptive retreat drew him deep within their trap, and with one keystroke, Jetta commanded the hidden pieces to resurface and fold in around him, destroying his unsuspecting army in seconds. As their blue pieces drowned out his green, the scoreboard above the sphere racked up a record number of points.
We beat Li in less than ten minutes, Jaeia thought, glancing over to Unipoesa. Why isn’t the admiral happy?
Unipoesa, playing the front man in the game, did not look the part of a commander who had just outwitted his greatest rival.
He looks tired and defeated, Jaeia observed. As if he lost the game, not Li.
Overcome by rage and confusion, Li slammed his fist against the com panel. “You cheating bastard. You can’t beat me!”
“Cool down, Li,” Unipoesa said.
“No Sentient can achieve victory that quickly, especially with the odds stacked against him. You used a computer program or a processor. You stinking ratchakker!”
“You’ve lost, Li. Now you must stand down,” the Minister announced over the interlink.
Chancellor Reamon, who had overseen the game, still gaped at the scoreboard. “No Sentient has ever scored this high. Dichit, Damon, if this is true, why didn’t you say something sooner?” Reamon bumbled. “Get Li out of there!”
Several armed guards dragged the screaming Urusous Li from the terminal projection to the brig with the cameras still rolling. Reamon and the Minister faced the admiral squarely on the conference link.
“Admiral Unipoesa, the General Assembly hereby reinstates you as CCO of the Alliance Fleet. Now what in the name of the Gods was your ship doing so far out in unregulated space in the first place?” Reamon asked.
“Retrieving a federative offender.”
The veins on Reamon’s forehead throbbed. “Couldn’t it have waited?!”
“Just securing the homeland, Sir.”
Minister Razar leaned into the cameras. “Central Command is preparing for your arrival and will be equipped to make the broadcast for the Fleet.”
“Let’s hope that these numbers aren’t falsified and that you have better luck than Li,” Reamon said before cutting his communication link. The Minister favored the admiral with a salute before terminating his own link.
The admiral lingered a moment before approaching them. “Good work. Now, please, get some rest. There isn’t much time left.”
Jetta, looking utterly spent, started to follow the escorts to the exit, but stopped when she realized Jaeia was lagging behind.
Jaeia’s eyes fixed on the Admiral. “Go on, Jetta,” Jaeia said. “I’ll catch up with you later.”
For a moment Jetta looked like she would protest, but fatigue silenced her, and the guards showed her out.
When her sister had departed, Jaeia approached the admiral. “May I have a word with you?”
Unipoesa nodded, and the two were left alone in the simulator.
“Does our presence bother you?” Jaeia asked, hiding her trembling hands behind her back.
The admiral’s eyes shifted away as if he was searching for a prepared response. “Why would you think that?”
“You already know I’m a telepath,” Jaeia said, trying to engage him. He nodded but didn’t speak.
“I know you’re not afraid of us like the others are. It’s something else.”
He smiled weakly. “I’m an old man with old regrets. Nothing you can do about that.”
Jaeia knew she should let him walk away and forget about it—that’s what he wanted—but she couldn’t. His negative emotions felt like her fault, or at least her responsibility, and she eyed him worriedly.
Noting her gaze, the admiral patted her on the shoulder. “Jaeia Kyron, the reports did say that you were the empathetic one.”
“Yeah, but I’m just as stubborn as my sister.”
The admiral smiled for her. “Please don’t concern yourself with me now. Concentrate on what you and your sister need to do to win this thing. Then maybe we can talk about less important things, okay?”
“Yes?”
Jaeia took a deep breath. “We’re not just abject killers to you, right?”
The admiral’s brows pinched in confusion, but then his face relaxed and he rested a hand on her shoulder. “No, my young friend. Even so, it’s time to get you ready for your war.”
***
She didn’t know how long it had been since she last slept, but alone in their assigned quarters with a soft bed to lie upon, Jetta still couldn’t sleep. The silence was terrible, transforming into a tangible thing that pressed down upon her from every side. In silence and solitude she couldn’t hide. The darkest thoughts and emotions she kept bottled up suddenly broke free, splitting her at the seams.
Lying atop the sheets, Jetta curled into a ball, tucking her face behind her knees. Battling Li had reawakened old wounds, none of which she would acknowledge, but they ravaged her nonetheless. As much as she tried to distance herself from the destruction she had caused during her time with the Dominion Core, she couldn’t ignore the ache in her stomach and tightness in her chest.
Jetta reached over to the nightstand where she had left a datapad. She didn’t know why, but she had to see.
“Show me the aftermath of the war with the Eeclian Dominion,” she instructed the interface.
The datapad scrolled through the death tolls and video reels of the various battles. Subconscious remembrance raised the hairs on her arms and legs as she saw Dominion Core warships crushing the feeble USC rebellion. She scrolled through the newscasts from countless worlds with a numbed expression as refugees gave tearful testimonies of their ordeals. She saw beautiful landscapes transformed into graveyards, and men, women, and children, young and old, thrown into mass burial sites by exhausted salvage teams.
Jetta tucked the datapad under her pillow and curled back into a ball. I can’t let that get to me, she reminded herself. But when she tried to refocus her energies on finding Jahx, her mind began to slip.
“Skucheka,” she muttered, massaging her temples. If I’m not careful, I’ll fall back into that nightmare.
Triorion: Awakening (Book One) Page 41
