The Edge of Infinity (War Eternal Book 7)

by M. R. Forbes

  The lift started to open. Cormac's hand shifted as his p-rat painted the targets. His finger tensed on the trigger, but he didn't fire. Why not?

  The first thing Mitchell noticed was that Chancellor Ken was there in person, overseeing the efforts to gain control of the Dove. There were two other Federation officers with him, their stiff uniforms carrying enough hardware to speak to their experience and rank. Four soldiers were beside them, not spread out to avoid an attack, but in a precise presentation line, eyes forward and arms at their sides.

  The second thing he noticed was that their weapons were on the ground in front of them, and the Chancellor and his officers had their hands over their heads.

  "Don't shoot," Chancellor Ken said, his eyes landing on Mitchell. "Colonel, I've given the emergency order for all implants to be deactivated. The enemy has returned, and your ship won't accept our command. Please, help us."

  26

  Mitchell glared at the Chancellor. He wanted more than anything to chew the man out for his stupidity, but there wasn't any time for that right now.

  Maybe later, but not now.

  "Shank, Firedog, grab the weapons and get these soldiers off my bridge. Chancellor, you're lucky I came back to reclaim her. Now get the hell out of my way."

  Chancellor Ken and the two officers stepped aside as Mitchell made his way to the command chair, jumping into it and leaning back. Origin's needle appendage dropped down to meet him, and he winced as the Tetron consciousness integrated with his own.

  "Hail the Federation ships," he said, looking over at Chancellor Ken, catching Shank and Cormac out of the corner of his eye as they guided the Federation soldiers onto the lift. "Send them a video stream. Make sure Ken is in the view. And prep for FTL."

  "Affirmative," Origin said.

  "FTL?" Ken said. "I asked you to help us."

  "I am helping you," Mitchell said. "There are four of them out there. We don't have the firepower."

  "The people on the station have no way off until we return the cruisers to their docks."

  "If you want to lose your entire fleet, be my guest."

  "Are you serious?"

  "Very. This wouldn't have been necessary if you had listened to me in the first place."

  Mitchell watched the Tetron in the viewscreen. They had realized their efforts to take control of the humans on the ships and stardock had failed, and now they were moving in to attack, spreading out and readying their main plasma weapons.

  "All hails received," Origin said.

  "This is Captain Shun of the Federation cruiser Dragon," one of the ship's captains said. "Chancellor, is that you? We've shut down our neural implants, but sir, we're nearly deaf and blind out here."

  Ken's eyes shifted to Mitchell. He was angry to have been proven so wrong. "Understood, Captain. All Federation ships, I am hereby turning over command of the fleet to Colonel Mitchell Williams of the United Planetary Alliance. We have struck a bargain to combat this new threat together. You will follow orders from him, effective immediately."

  "Chancellor?" Shun said. "You consort with the enemy."

  "The enemy of my enemy is my friend, Captain," Ken replied. "This is an order, not a suggestion."

  "Yes, sir."

  "Colonel?"

  "Commanders, I'm transmitting FTL coordinates now. I'll try to hold them off for as long as I can while you get moving, but you'd better get moving."

  "My wife is on the station," someone said in the background. "My children."

  Mitchell closed his eyes. There was no way he could save them. Not against four. Not now. "Origin, transmit the coordinates."

  "Transmitting."

  He opened his eyes, taking control of Origin's power and using it to get the Dove moving, turning the bow toward the incoming Tetron and pushing energy forward to create a plasma ball.

  "Mitchell, we cannot defeat them alone," Origin said.

  "I know. We just need to stall for a minute."

  "I do not know if we have a minute."

  The Tetron fired, four massive balls of energy sent hurtling toward the Federation ships. Mitchell released Origin's plasma, sending it out to meet them. It caught one of the streams, creating a flash of light and shockwave of energy as they collided. He hadn't gotten a full charge, so a lesser stream poured through. Hopefully, the Federation shields were strong enough to withstand it.

  "Commanders, if your cruisers have nukes, target the plasma and fire. Do it now."

  The balls were growing nearer to the fleet, threatening to strike. Three ships launched three missiles, which rocketed away toward the infernos. Two of the missiles were aimed at the same stream, and they detonated ahead of it, knocking it out. The third missile exploded too soon.

  "Damn it," Mitchell said as the first ball hit one of the cruisers, tearing in and through it and ripping it apart, continuing on and through a second, smaller ship.

  The other ball somehow missed the starships, but it probably wasn't aimed at them. It struck the station dead on, a full-force blast that broke right through the shields and enveloped the dock with energy. Mitchell shook his head, having seen this happen once before.

  "Firing amoebics," Mitchell said, opening the batteries and loosing the projectiles, as many as he could as fast as he could. He needed to keep the Tetron on the defensive, make them save their power for their shields.

  "They are returning fire," Origin said.

  Mitchell could see the enemy amoebics come streaming out in the viewscreen, thousands of them headed for the thick of the fleet. If the ships didn't go to FTL now, they would all be caught in the maelstrom and ripped to pieces.

  He adjusted his vector, trying to move in front of them and catch as many as he could, shifting power to the starboard side and increasing the shield energy. The Dove shuddered slightly as the amoebics impacted against the shields, threatening the integrity. Hundreds of the projectiles slipped past, continuing toward the Federation ships.

  Mitchell watched them go, only breathing when the first Federation ship vanished, followed by another, and then another. One of the patrollers wasn't quick enough, and nearly fifty of the amoebics found it, shattering its shields and digging in before detonating, scattering its debris across space.

  "Time to go," Mitchell said, stopping the regular thrust and switching to the intelligence's hyperspace controls. The Tetron were preparing their main plasma weapons again, and there was no way they could survive a strike from them all at once.

  They didn't need to. The stars began to collapse around them as the Dove went into FTL, pulling them away from Calypso and away from the fight.

  They remained in hyperspace for nearly three minutes before dropping out, landing on the outskirts of a red dwarf, surrounded by the fleeing Federation ships. Only then did Mitchell let himself relax, slumping in the chair. He remained that way for nearly half a minute until he noticed Chancellor Ken looking at him. Then he picked himself up, leaning forward to break the connection with Origin. He was becoming used to it again, and he managed to get to his feet without being crippled by the nausea that followed.

  "Chancellor," he said, hearing the venom in his own voice. "How many people were on that station?"

  "Twenty-two hundred and fourteen," Ken replied, his voice soft.

  "You killed all of them. Every last one."

  "I." Ken paused. "I." He paused again. "You were right, Colonel. You tried to tell me, but I didn't want to hear you. I only wanted this ship. This technology. This is the most amazing thing I have ever seen."

  "You almost cost us the war, too. I didn't go out of my way to bring the Dove back to have you get her destroyed."

  Ken didn't respond to that. He kept his head bowed, looking down at the floor. Mitchell walked up to him, stopping only half a meter away.

  "You're still alive. So are thousands of your people. You owe me for that. You owe me your allegiance. You owe me your clout with the rest of the council. I appreciate your fleet, Chancellor, but it isn't enough. Not
even close. Those four Tetron we left behind will be joined by more, and they're going to start making their way through Federation space, claiming the planets and people and ships they can, and destroying the rest. Do you understand?"

  Chancellor Ken looked up, tears in his eyes. He nodded. "Yes, Colonel. My wife. My wife was on the station, too. My son." He froze, trying to compose himself. "He was only three."

  Mitchell immediately lost his ability to be angry at the man. There was no point. He was already suffering more from his mistake than he would from anything Mitchell could say.

  "What do you want me to do?" Ken asked.

  "Take your ships and head for your homeworld. Warn the council. Get the gears of war in motion. If you can, get a diplomat to the Alliance and ask them for a truce. I have people working to convince them of this threat as well. Origin, did you get the feed?"

  "Yes, Mitchell," Origin said.

  "I'll provide you with the stream so you can show them what happened here. You need to get them to reprogram their receivers. I'll give you the keys so we can continue to communicate."

  "You don't want the fleet?"

  "Not right now. They'll only slow me down."

  "As you say, Colonel."

  "Don't think to cross me on this again, Chancellor. I've fought this war before, and I know what's going to happen if we don't come together to face this. You lost your wife and son? Keep that feeling with you. Remember how many more of your people are going to be feeling the same thing if we don't stop this. Use it to appeal to the Council. Get them to join the fight."

  Ken nodded. "I will."

  "Good. You're dismissed, Chancellor. You and your officers."

  "How will I find you again?"

  "You won't. I'll find you."

  Chancellor Ken bowed, as did the officers. He left the bridge without another word, entering the lift and vanishing behind its closing doors.

  "Geez, Colonel," Cormac said, having returned to the bridge. "This has been one of the most fun days of my entire life."

  "You think war is fun, Firedog?" Mitchell said.

  "My mum always told me I was frigged up in the head."

  "I think she was right."

  "Yes, sir."

  "Colonel," Ilanka said. "What do we do now?"

  "First we'll pick up the Schism. Then we're going to finish enlisting another ally in the fight. His role might be the most important of them all."

  Mitchell looked out the viewscreen, at the eight Federation ships that had managed to escape. Of course, Millie wasn't going to be too happy with their next destination. He didn't care.

  This was a start.

  But only a start.

  27

  A quick jump found them a little closer to the remains of the stardock than Mitchell really wanted to be, but it was also where they had agreed to meet once the Dove was secure. He remained connected to Origin after they came out of hyperspace, tense while the intelligence scanned the area nearby.

  "We are clear, Mitchell," Origin said.

  He disconnected himself from her, barely feeling the change this time as he became more acclimated to the integration. He turned his head, looking out of the viewscreens and finding the Schism a few hundred kilometers off the stern.

  A knock followed a second later.

  "Captain," Mitchell said.

  "I see your mission was a success," Millie said.

  "Not a complete success. The Tetron came back to the station. They destroyed it, and a few of the Federation's ships."

  "I'm not going to cry over that."

  "You should. We need every ship we can get."

  "Not every ship."

  Mitchell wasn't about to argue. Not when his next move was going to anger the leader of the Riggers even more. He had already been through this with her once. He wasn't looking forward to doing it again.

  "Captain, bring the Schism in close so we can lock onto you. Unfortunately, the Dove didn't come with any docking airlocks, so you'll have to take a transport across."

  "Roger."

  The Schism started to move, easing forward on the Dove's starboard side. It had gone halfway when one of Origin's tendrils reached out.

  "Colonel?" Millie said, a little surprised.

  "Get in a little closer," Mitchell replied.

  The mining ship shifted sideways, moving within a few meters of the Dove. The tendril crossed the space, touching the armor. The end of it began to glow with white-hot energy, and then it sank into the metal. Then the tendril was retracting, pulling the Schism with it, bringing it up to the side.

  "We've got you," Mitchell said. "I'll meet you in the hangar."

  "Roger."

  Mitchell headed for the lift, with Ilanka and Cormac following. Shank hadn't come back up to the bridge after the Federation soldiers had finished disembarking, and he had no idea where the soldier had gone. He was sure Origin knew, and Shank was a big boy. He wasn't concerned.

  They made their way to the hangar, the signs of their earlier fight barely evident. The Federation soldiers had helped their injured off, and Origin had already lifted the remains of the crashed piranha away to break down into raw materials. He smiled when he thought about how Millie would chastise him for destroying it, only to have it reappear back in one piece sometime later, possibly with a few upgrades.

  The transport from the Schism arrived at the same time he did. The pilot picked a spot near the open center of the large space, touching down and opening the hatch. Millie jumped out, trailed by Lopez, Singh, Sunny, Mouth, and a few others. No sooner had they disembarked than the shuttle lifted off again, heading out for another pickup.

  "Captain," Ilanka said, bowing crisply.

  "Captain," Cormac said, his bow a little less sharp.

  "Millie," Mitchell said, establishing the chain of command now that they were on his ship. He had given up the leadership role to her in the past, but those days, and in fact the entire recursion, were gone. He had matured substantially since the last time they had been here together.

  "Colonel," Millie replied, accepting his command and bowing to him. "Nice place you have here."

  "You haven't seen anything yet."

  "I saw this thing take two hits from those massive energy balls, and not even sweat. That's good enough for me. I love that hunk of junk out there, but I love being alive more."

  "Roger that."

  "Where's Shank?" Millie asked, suddenly concerned.

  "I don't know. He was injured in the fighting. Nothing serious. He disappeared after the Feds left."

  Millie's concern vanished. "Probably sulking somewhere. He hates when he gets hit. It's an affront to his pride."

  "I can have Origin track him down if you want?"

  "Origin? Oh, you mean the AI. No, that won't be necessary. He'll probably come back to head over to the medi-bot." Her eyes flitted around the space. "Where is Origin?"

  "I am here, Admiral Narayan," Origin replied. "I am all around you."

  "Right. I forgot. Please, call me Captain, or Millie."

  "Of course, Millie."

  "So you got the Federation's attention," Millie said. "What's next?"

  "Right now? We get your people settled in. Ilanka, I can show you where berthing is, and you can show the others?"

  "Da."

  "You should come, too, Captain. I need to get in touch with my counterpart, and I'd like you to participate."

  "Of course. Firedog, you're in charge until Rain comes back, or Shank shows up. Keep everyone here until we can get them organized."

  "Me?" Cormac said, a mischievous grin spreading.

  "You'll stand there, and you'll wait for the others," Millie said.

  The grin vanished. "Yes, ma'am."

  "Also, we'll need whatever supplies you have on board the Schism," Mitchell said. "We're running pretty light at the moment."

  "Of course. What about-" She tapped on the side of her head.

  "The kill switch? As long as you're on the Dove, the signal w
ill be blocked. The Alliance can't touch you."

  "As long as we're on the Dove," Millie said, not as pleased with the arrangement as she had been before. "Or there are no Alliance ships around. I suppose it's better than nothing."

  Mitchell led them through the corridors of the Dove, bringing them to the line of bunks.

  "Not much of an upgrade from the Schism, is it?" Millie said of the tight corridors, dim lighting, and heavy metal structure.

  "More like a downgrade for you," Mitchell replied. "We don't have any fancy quarters."

  "The fancy quarters are for show, Colonel. I'm pretty low-maintenance."

  "I know. The important thing is that she'll keep you alive. Ilanka, take any rack you want except that one." He pointed at his.

  "Thank you, Colonel. I will choose later, after the others have selected."

  "Do you know the way back to the hangar?"

  "Yes, sir."

  "You're dismissed, Rain," Millie said. "Thank you."

  "Yes, ma'am."

  She bowed and turned, heading back toward the hangar.

  Millie put her hand on Mitchell's shoulder. It still felt strange to him because it was real flesh and blood, not the bionic that had come before. "Mitch, before we go any further, I need to ask you something."

  "You never have to preface it, Millie," Mitchell said. "What's up?"

  "Why us?"

  "What do you mean?"

  "It wasn't a trick question. Why us? Why the Riggers? Why come for us? You said we died in the last recursion, and correct me if I'm wrong, but by saving us now, aren't you setting us up to die again later?"

  "The future is mutable. It's already changed in a number of ways. I need your skills and your nothing to lose attitude."

  "But the Tetron aren't on the ground, and we're mainly an incursion team. Special ops. We don't do space battles that well."

  "Not all battles against the Tetron happen in space. Besides, maybe I think you're safer in here than you are out there."

  "Tell me more about us," Millie said. "Were we good together?"