Dark Matter

by S. W. Ahmed

  Eventually they reached the other clearing where their scout ship was waiting. It was hovering in the air above the trees, to avoid being damaged by the shaking ground and falling branches. As soon as they appeared in the clearing, the ship lowered several steel-like ropes to the ground. The ropes immediately snapped around the waists of all of them, and effortlessly lifted them up into the air and into the belly of the ship. It was none too soon, for the ground under them shook again and suddenly cracked open, splitting the clearing into two and sending many of the uprooted trees into the growing crevasse below.

  With all on board, the Mendoken pilot pointed the ship upwards and accelerated into the sky as quickly as possible.

  The mood on board the scout ship was dour and sad. Nobody said a word, as the ship exited the planet’s atmosphere and headed out into space. Marc knew he and his friends were lucky to have escaped at all, and with so few casualties. But none of that changed the fact that Sharjam was dead. Sharjam had done the ultimate noble, selfless thing – he had sacrificed himself to save the others. He had evidently also eradicated what was left of an entire civilization, but there had been no choice. Showing mercy here would have resulted in a much larger eradication of all civilizations in the Glaessan.

  These Unghans had all been directly responsible for the great conspiracy over the civilizations of the Glaessan, Marc told himself. They had either participated in or at least actively supported the massacre about to take place across the galaxy, all of it to further their own ends. So none of these Unghans could really be called innocent. Furthermore, he didn’t recall seeing any children among the Unghans. Perhaps the Starguzzlers hadn’t allowed them to have any, in order to maintain tight control over their population growth.

  Marc remembered how well he had gotten to know Sharjam over the past several days. It was Sharjam who had saved his life on Meenjaza and revealed the Unghan conspiracy to all, and it was Sharjam who had opened his eyes to his unique role as the Sign the Aftar had been waiting for. That same Sharjam was now dead.

  As sad as he felt about what had happened, Marc didn’t even want to imagine how Dumyan was feeling. It was just too horrible to think about. Instead, he tried to focus his thoughts elsewhere. Sitting in the main cabin, he stared out one of the windows at the abandoned replica ships hovering above the planet. Those were the only ships the Unghans seemed to have, no other ships of their own. Perhaps it was because the Starguzzlers hadn’t allowed the Unghans to have any, thereby ensuring that the Unghans didn’t escape from their clutches. The only ships allowed were those constructed specifically to infiltrate the Glaessan for the purposes of the grand scheme.

  It was amazing, he thought, to what lengths the Unghans had gone with their scheme. They were true masters of the arts of disguise and deception, and combined with their total lack of morals or compassion for others, had perfected their strategy of implosion. They would almost have succeeded with their plan to cause the major civilizations of the Glaessan to implode, were it not for the unexpected turn of events after his own arrival in the Dominion. Instead, their strategy of implosion, successful again and again for billions of years, had finally turned on them. In a sense, the Unghans had just been forced to implode themselves, by the very victims they had been targeting for implosion. And it was the last implosion any Unghan would ever live to see.

  Or was it? He wondered if there were more Unghans still left in the Glaessan. Considering how far they had infiltrated the Aftaran Dominion and all the spies they had planted across the MendokenRepublic, it was only logical to assume that there were still many of them left. They would hopefully all be caught and dealt with in a just manner.

  Right now, however, there was something far more critical to worry about – getting back to the Glaessan. And as he gazed out at the sky behind the replica ships, he knew it wasn’t going to be easy. The Unghans were gone, but there was still another threat looming.

  “Obviously Jaegor wasn’t kidding when he said they were all coming here,” Zorina said. She had just joined him by the cabin window.

  Marc couldn’t agree more. They had already seen the Starguzzlers in approach during their earlier descent to the planet. Back then, however, the Starguzzlers had just been tiny specks in the dark sky. Now that they had arrived, each of them appeared bigger than the very planet Marc and his companions had just left behind. Their massive bodies blocked the view of anything beyond, and the light they emanated brightened up the sky like a million suns. Millions of them there had to be, for every direction the eye turned, they were there, and so close to each other that they were almost touching. The scout ship, the two planets and this whole section of the star system was completely surrounded by them.

  Zorina scowled. “How are we going to get past them? I doubt they’ll just give us free passage. Especially after what we did to their beloved Unghans.”

  Marc and Zorina walked up to the cockpit, where Sibular and the pilot were engaged in deep discussion.

  “Can we enter a consar before we reach the Starguzzler blockade?” Marc asked Sibular.

  “We were just discussing that,” Sibular replied. “It will be difficult, considering the length of trajectory needed to enter the consar. The gravitational pull of the Starguzzlers will also be an issue, given their size. For ideal conditions, we need to be well past them before we can attempt any entry.”

  The less than ideal conditions, however, were about to get even less ideal. Some of the Starguzzlers, their red sparkles dancing viciously with anger, began spewing out hot flames. The flames looked like huge sun flares, each about the size of a whole moon, and quickly sped across vast expanses of space. Fortunately the aim of the Starguzzlers was hopelessly inaccurate. Just like Jaegor had said, they couldn’t target anything smaller than an entire planet. But more and more Starguzzlers from all sides began shooting flames in the general direction of the scout ship, reducing the amount of free space left for it to move through.

  The pilot tried her best to maneuver the ship to dodge the incoming flames, swaying to the left and right, up and down. But it was getting increasingly difficult.

  “Sibular!” Marc shouted, noticing how his Mendoken friend seemed to be standing still, as composed as ever. “Any brilliant ideas? All it will take is for one of those flames to hit us!”

  “Remember Volo-Gaviera, Marc?” Sibular replied calmly. “Perhaps we should try the same thing here.”

  “Volo-Gaviera? What’s that got to…” Marc’s eyes lit up, for he suddenly remembered what had happened in that battle between the three Mendoken battlecruisers and the armada of Volonan warships. “Why, yes! Is this ship equipped?”

  “Yes, it is. We made sure of that before leaving on the mission. The technology has also been significantly improved in the meantime.” Sibular then pressed some controls on a screen.

  “Sit back and enjoy the ride, Zorina!” Marc said, smiling. “You’re about to have your socks blown off.”

  “I don’t wear socks,” Zorina replied, but then gasped as soon as she noticed the Starguzzlers and their flames outside growing infinitely larger. “Wha… what’s happening?”

  “Mendoken technology at its finest. I’d better inform the others in the cabin what’s happening, before they freak out like you.”

  The Mendoken shrinking technology worked flawlessly. At a millionth its original size, the scout ship was easily able to maneuver around the Starguzzlers’ flames, like a tiny fly evading the waving hands of a crowd of people. The Starguzzlers continued to spew their flames in all directions, but no longer had a clue where the ship was. The ship soon passed through the blockade unhindered, along a path right between the colossal bodies of two neighboring Starguzzlers.

  “Free at last!” Zorina shouted, as the ship emerged on the other side of the blockade. A clear view of dark space lay beyond.

  Marc stood next to her in the cockpit, and felt highly relieved as well. They had just passed what was hopefully the last of a series of insurmountable barriers.


  “Free at last, yes, but look over there.” Sibular pointed at a long series of blue circles in formation to the left, on the far side of the Starguzzler blockade. They were big, but very far away and only faintly visible to the naked eye.

  Marc strained his eyes to see, and frowned as soon as he realized what they were. “Consar openings!”

  “Yes,” Sibular said, “it appears the invasion is going ahead. The Unghans must have left enough preparations already in place for the Starguzzlers to carry on by themselves.”

  “We’ve got to get back as soon as possible!” Zorina said. “We can no longer prevent the invasion. All we can do is to prepare everyone in the Glaessan for all out war, and it’s going to be a war against an enemy more powerful than anything we’ve ever encountered before.”

  After gaining a fair distance from the Starguzzler blockade, the ship grew back to its original size and entered a consar. The plotted destination: the Afta-Raushan system in the heart of the Glaessan galaxy, over 16 million light years away.

  Chapter 39

  The dry desert winds blew with gusto across Meenjaza’s golden, sandy landscape. The cloudless sky was a clear blue and the sun shone brilliantly, just like the last time Marc had been here. But the last time he had been here, he had landed in chains. This time, he was landing as a hero.

  The scout ship, escorted on both sides by Aftaran Shoyra-class vessels, landed safely on a circular open-air strip in between a number of Dominion administration buildings. The buildings were large and majestic looking, no different than other buildings on Meenjaza Marc had seen before. Their spiked domes and sweeping arches sat atop their pentagonal shapes, and tall pillars marked the many entrances on each side.

  The journey through the consar had been largely uneventful, a most welcome change after the uninterrupted series of adventures the ship’s occupants had faced with the Unghans and Starguzzlers. During the 8 days on board, Marc, Zorina and the other Aftarans had consoled Dumyan on his loss. They had pointed out how Sharjam had sacrificed himself for the most important of causes, and how he would always be remembered as one of the greatest Aftarans in history for his contribution to his people. Now it was up to Dumyan to carry forward Sharjam’s memory and make sure he hadn’t died in vain, for the struggle was far from over.

  News of the scout ship’s safe return to the Glaessan had reached Meenjaza a few hours earlier, and a large crowd of Aftaran well-wishers and curious onlookers had already assembled around the landing strip. As the ship’s doors opened, a number of floating platforms emerged from the gates of one of the buildings and came forward into the strip.

  Marc stepped out into the open air, and saw several Aftarans and Mendoken descending from the floating platforms. Among them were Osalya and the Imgoerin. The two of them had evidently either stayed in the Dominion all this time, or had returned from the Republic for this event. Either way, their presence indicated just how important the Imgoerin considered this mission to have been.

  There was another Aftaran accompanying the Imgoerin, one who Marc didn’t recognize. He looked old, very old, and tired, as if he hadn’t slept in many nights. His uncovered face showed tearful eyes. Dumyan ran up to him and embraced him, and the two held each other for a long time. No doubt, it was Autamrin, the father of Dumyan and Sharjam, the long time ruler of the Dominion before the advent of the Unghan conspiracy.

  Marc then noticed Raiha standing nearby. She looked completely devastated. Her eyes were red from all the crying, the feathers on her face soaked with tears. All the short-lived hopes and dreams of a blissful life with Sharjam as her husband were now shattered forever.

  Dumyan hugged her, and whispered what must have been kind and soothing words into her ear. It was a stirring moment, and many in the crowd began to shift uneasily.

  Another female Aftaran came forward and hugged Dumyan, then tried to console Raiha. Marc guessed this had to be Birshat, Dumyan’s long time love. It was good, he thought, that Dumyan had someone to share his life with. Times were going to be tough for him for a while. Having someone he loved to support him during that period was going to be critical.

  “Hail to Sharjam, our hero!” somebody suddenly yelled.

  “Hail to Sharjam!” the crowd roared in response. “Hail to Sharjam!” Their voices sounded raw and full of emotion, like an army of soldiers crying out their readiness for battle.

  “Hail to Autamrin, our true leader!” somebody else shouted.

  “Hail to Autamrin, hail to Sharjam, hail to Dumyan!” was the unanimous roar. “May the Creator bless them!”

  Marc watched the spectacle around him with wonder. There was so much energy, so much excitement in the air. The alien conspiracy that had haunted the Aftaran people for so long was gone, and the just, fair ways of old would once again flourish across the Dominion. The Aftaran people were learning from the grievous mistakes they had made, and would hopefully never repeat them.

  Yet all he could feel was conflicted and uncertain. Not only was he worried about the upcoming battle with the Starguzzlers, he couldn’t stop thinking about all the inexplicable things that had happened to him and all the supernatural capabilities he had been given. He still had no idea who or what had given him these capabilities, and why this power, with its evident sense of justice and its ability to see the future, had allowed someone as noble as Sharjam to be killed in so heinous a fashion.

  As Marc wrestled with these thoughts, he overheard one of the Aftarans in the crowd saying to Dumyan, “Mourn, Dumyan, but don’t regret. Your brother did the right thing. And don’t forget that despite his suffering, he still killed all his tormentors before they were able to kill him.”

  According to Aftaran religious tradition, a burial ritual had to be enacted by the nearest of kin as soon as any Aftaran was pronounced dead. If the body was not present, a ritual still had to be held. The ritual for Sharjam, however, would have to wait due to the unique urgency of the situation. After quick formal introductions and a trip into one of the nearby administration buildings, the travelers were only given a half hour to freshen up and have a quick meal. After that, they were to join Autamrin and the Imgoerin in a conference. Sibular, who of course needed no freshening up or nourishment, went off to the meeting right away.

  After the meal, Marc, Dumyan and Zorina were ushered into the conference room. The décor was standard Aftaran, with ornate foundations but sparse furnishings. The white floor was shiny and spotless, with stone pillars on the sides that shot straight up to the arched ceiling. The walls were covered with colorful patterns and beautiful works of calligraphy, and small windows near the top of the walls passed sunlight in at steep angles.

  The room was filled with Aftaran and Mendoken dignitaries, and a number of security guards. Among them were the Imgoerin, Osalya, Sibular, Autamrin, Birshat and Raiha. They were all huddled around a collection of 3D screens floating in midair. The screens were flashing through lists of data and graphical charts, with reports constantly appearing from across the Dominion and the Republic.

  “Mendoken equipment behind the scenes, no doubt,” Marc thought. The Aftar just didn’t have the level of technological sophistication needed to pull in data simultaneously from so many disparate sources over so vast a region of space.

  Having heard the account of all that had happened in the other galaxy from Sibular, everybody in the room was eager to discuss how to handle the impending threat. So far, there were no reports of any Starguzzler sightings anywhere. But everyone knew it was just a matter of time before the reports began coming in. Autamrin had already ordered the destruction of all infant Starguzzler fields inside the Dominion, including the one on the planet Droila. The Imgoerin had instructed the Mendoken to do the same inside the Republic, if any Starguzzler fields were found there. It was also agreed upon that the caretaker Doolins were innocent of the Starguzzler conspiracy and had simply been tricked by the Unghans into submission. The Doolins were therefore to be told the truth about their former masters, an
d then to be freed to live their lives as they chose.

  The discussion then began in earnest. There was unanimous agreement that the Starguzzlers would have to be confronted as soon as they began arriving in the Glaessan, before they could inflict much damage. The big question, however, was how to confront them.

  “We cannot defeat them with our existing weapons,” Sibular pointed out. “Even our planet destroyers are no match for their size and firepower.”

  “They can eradicate entire star systems at a time,” Dumyan added. “They shoot long flames that burn up everything around them in an instant.”

  Marc nodded. “I’m certainly no expert on all the weaponry you have at your disposal, but I don’t think there’s any way you can fight the Starguzzlers by attacking them head-on with battleships. They’re just too big. You’d need thousands of ships for each Starguzzler.”

  “What if the Volona join us in the battlefield?” Autamrin suggested, casting a quick glance at Zorina. His old voice seemed to quiver ever so slightly.

  Zorina flapped her ears. “It would certainly help. My people are experts in defense, after all, and have a large armada of powerful warships. But to be honest, even if I had enough time to convince our headstrong Empress to join forces with the Volona’s archenemies, it still wouldn’t make enough of a difference for us to win. Like you, my people don’t have the kind of weapons needed to tackle the Starguzzlers. Their size is definitely an issue, but it isn’t the only issue. If we use conventional firepower, my guess is the Starguzzlers will just absorb the heat and energy from the shots and become even stronger. The Unghans told us the Starguzzlers are made mostly of hot gases and pure energy. So firing at them will pretty much have the same effect as hurling a boost of hydrogen into the center of a burning sun.”