by C. Gockel
Kenji swallowed. When Noa had made that joke, she'd been right, the Dirac transistor was a long way off … it was still a long way off.
She, Kenji, and everyone had forgotten that artificial intelligence didn’t have to be small, as long as it had energy supplies large enough. He wiped his hands down his face. The time gates had for so long kept watch, loyally ferrying humans, their goods, and their intelligence from one corner of the galaxy to another. There had been no rebellion. No attempt to reach out to humanity. They’d just been watching … planning. Kenji wasn’t sure when the gates had leapt over the divide and become conscious entities seeking autonomy, contemplating the destruction of the human race.
He shivered and closed his eyes … but knew he’d never get back to sleep. After a few minutes, he gave up. Climbing from his bed and throwing a robe over his pajamas, he exited the room he'd been assigned in the shelter. He walked down a long dark hallway and past a pair of guards guarding a staircase. They didn't bother him as he ascended. Moments later, he emerged in the reception area of the premier's residence. It was illuminated by the light from Luddeccea's moon and Time Gate 8 that streamed in the doors to the residence's immense veranda, open to Luddeccea's pure night air. Kenji strode through the doors and past more guards.
He walked to the veranda's edge and stared up at Time Gate 8, still playing second moon to Luddeccea, despite his sabotage. From here, he couldn't see the preparations it made to weaponize its nuclear fuel cells. From here, it looked peaceful.
The premier's voice behind him made him startle. “Couldn't sleep?”
Turning his head, he saw Leetier approaching. He was fully dressed and was wearing the formal suit that he only wore at affairs of state or … “You were at a council meeting?” Kenji asked. When he'd left his room, it was only 02:23 Luddeccean time.
Leetier sighed. “Yes ...” He came and stood beside Kenji at the veranda's edge and looked up at Time Gate 8 as Kenji had been doing moments before. “It was decided that Counselor Karpel is in need of re-education.”
Kenji blinked, remembering the last such meeting he'd attended. “He did seem … hostile …” Kenji said.
Leetier exhaled. “He is afraid. He is also misguided. We can't have him spreading fear or doubt among the populace. We have to remain resolute.” The premier put his hand on the veranda's railing. “There is also news of your sister.”
“You've found her?” Kenji said, his breath catching.
“Found her, the archangel, and the Ark,” the premier said. Was it Kenji's imagination, or did he sound angry?
He couldn't let himself be angry. “Where?” Kenji asked.
“Atlantia,” said the premier.
“There would be no reason to go to Atlantia after that rogue station in the belt—not after the tsunami knocked out its dome,” said Kenji. “It isn't on the way to Libertas, or to System 7.”
“I have no idea why they went there,” said the premier, and once again Kenji thought he heard tension in his voice. “But we'll catch them yet. In exchange for grain, Libertas has agreed to apprehend them immediately. And we're working on arrangements with some of the larger outposts too—”
“But there are thousands of smaller outposts,” Kenji said. “My sister knows she's being hunted now. She will try and stay hidden.” Kenji blinked, remembering his sister as a child being dragged home by a neighbor after she'd attacked four boys who'd been trying to hurt a wild werfle. Noa didn't hide … she fought. But she was hiding now … why?
“Well, there is some good news,” the premier said. “We have an … agent aboard. They'll lightbeam us as soon as the Ark reaches an outpost. They can't stay hidden forever.”
He who fights and runs away, lives to fight another day. Kenji blinked. Noa had taught him that expression. Something she'd learned at the Fleet Academy in a history of warfare class.
“She's not hiding,” Kenji said. “She's getting ready to fight.”
The premier chuckled. “No, she's not. The Ark isn't a warship. It's a colonist vessel.”
“She is charming,” Kenji said. “She could gather a following … reinforcements.”
“Kenji,” the premier said. “The only planet with a militarized fleet in this system is Luddeccea.” He shook his head. “Even if she tried to round up captains on independent vessels, they'd turn her down. The only currency out there right now is food. And we are the bank.”
Somewhere far off, a nocturnal ptery cried. Kenji's gaze went to the small star that was S8O5.
“Maybe she isn't planning on gathering reinforcements in this system,” Kenji said.
“If she's on her way to Seven, we have years to prepare,” said the premier.
“She's not going to Seven,” he whispered, staring at the faintly orange glow of the gas giant.
“Well, then, we don't have to worry about her gathering reinforcements,” the premier said. “You’re overanalyzing this.”
Kenji rocked on his feet, remembering the call from System 10, and the lag between reception that had been too short, and the curve of the moon in the background.
“There's another gate,” Kenji said.
Kenji stared at the night sky, envisioning the three-dimensional map of the heavens that enshrouded Luddeccea.
“What?” said the premier. “We have this system mapped exceedingly well. Our buoys have not—”
“It's not in this system,” Kenji said. The Ark's trajectory was a bright jagged line in his mind. It had to be someplace close but not so close that the Fleet would worry about local authorities discovering it.
In the periphery of his vision, Kenji saw the premier drop his hands from the veranda and turn toward him.
“The Kanakah Cloud,” Kenji said, rolling on his feet. “They're heading to the Kanakah Cloud. There has to be a hidden time gate, there is no other reason they'd go to that uninhabited sector. If they summon the Fleet, they could be here within months.”
The premier released a breath. “All humanity will be lost.”
~FIN~
To be concluded in Heretic. Be alerted of special new release discounts, sign up for my mailing list.
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Also by C. Gockel
The Archangel Project
Carl Sagan's Hunt for Intelligent Life in the Universe: A Short Story
Archangel Down
Noa's Ark
Heretic
I Bring the Fire - an Urban Fantasy/Sci-Fi Series featuring Loki, Norse God of Mischief and Chaos
Wolves: I Bring the Fire Part I (free ebook)
Monsters: I Bring the Fire Part II
Chaos: I Bring the Fire Part III
In the Balance: I Bring the Fire Part 3.5
Fates: I Bring the Fire Part IV
The Slip: A Short Story (mostly) from Sleipnir’s Point of Smell
Warriors: I Bring the Fire Part V
Ragnarok: I Bring the Fire Part VI
The Fire Bringers: An I Bring the Fire Short Story
Atomic: a Short Story that is part of Nightshade, a multi-author anthology
Magic After Midnight: A Short Story
Other Works
Murphy’s Star: a Short Story of First Contact
