by Charles Nall
A man approached the table. “Good evening, gentlemen. I will be your new server. My name is Mr. Slade. What can I get for you? Refills for your beverages? Something to eat?”
Oshiro raised an eyebrow. “What happened to the waitress?”
Hawk also raised his voice in protest. “Yeah! She was cute! And hey, I stop by this watering hole a decent amount and don't recognize you.”
Slade nodded. “Sorry, she had a family emergency. I need to cover for your table as well.”
Kurosawa frowned. “Well I hope everything is alright. Here, I'll take some more to drink, thank you. I had the– uh–what did you call it?”
“Coreward Quasar,” Hawk said.
Kurosawa laughed. “Yes, yes, that. And thank you, sir.”
“My pleasure, friend. Anyone else?” Slade asked.
Oshiro raised his glass. “A Coreward Quasar for me as well.”
“Alright. I'll be right back.” Slade smiled, showing off his well-maintained teeth, and then bowed to the group at the table.
Oshiro continued, “I'm sure we can figure something out. There will be more of us looking at the evidence. Jun Souran could not have done it alone. You said he shared a credit chip with an insane man in the brig?”
“Yes. I'm not sure if it is related.”
“I think it'd be a good idea to start there.”
“I'm telling you, we've exhausted all leads there. You are welcome to talk to him, but don't expect to get much out of him. He just speaks nonsense. He also has a very bad problem with his nose. He seems to bleed from it all the time. We need to get someone to examine that. There may be something wrong with him.”
Kurosawa sat back in his chair. “That sounds bizarre. Well, we're here until we're done working, so I suppose we do need to check up on this insane man. Oh, my drink!”
Slade returned the drinks, now full to the brim with liquid. “Here you go sirs. Remember, if any of you need anything, just let me or another associate know.” Slade smiled and left the table.
Kurosawa sipped his drink. “Whoever did this had to leave a trace somewhere.”
Oshiro raised his glass. “We will figure this out. To Silver Cove, friends, and the Orion Confederation.”
The group clinked their glasses together.
January 30, 0270 AC - 13:00
Outside Argolis Space Port
Argolis, Artemis, Galactic Union Space
“Do you think it's a bad idea as well?”
Arnold leaned against the brick wall of the abandoned building. Trevor and Arnold had just walked from the salvage shop to watch the rioters around the space port.
Arnold shrugged. “I'm not sure. I mean, we're kind of biased. The old man is going to be the captain of Exodus and we're happy for him. I sort of understand these people. Most people on this rock don't want this to happen. They'd rather have the trash and sickness gone rather than hope Andromeda is any better. The government should freshen this place up, rather than tempt people to try Andromeda for a complete fresh start. If only there was money for both.”
Trevor laughed. “There's plenty of money for both. Credits are getting funneled into secret agencies and into the instruments of war. Teresa told me that much. She knows things. Things that the Union don’t want her to know. Things most of the higher-ups in the Union don't even know! But I'd rather not worry about that stuff.”
“Yes, you'd rather hunt aliens.”
“And don't you forget it.”
Arnold continued listening to the yells of the rioters and leaned his head against the brick. “I'm not so sure about the existence of intelligence life elsewhere. We don't have intelligent life here.”
“It would answer so many questions if we could find proof of aliens. And everyone wants to know who is responsible for the destruction of Earth. And well, I would like some answers myself,” Trevor said.
“Honestly, I think there is intelligent life elsewhere. I think they'd rather not have a conversation with us, though. We're drooling invalids compared to them. We are ants. They were just walking through their forest and happened to step on our nest, that's why Earth blew up. Humans share 98% of their DNA with chimps. Just a 2% difference created space travel, nations, cities, art and so on. Just imagine a race that was 2% different than us in the same way we are different from chimps. We keep chimps in zoos and teach a few sign language. Generally, we try to leave them alone, though. Same thing applies to aliens and us. They leave us alone, maybe take a few to study or laugh at. But they don't want or require a conversation with us.”
“Well, don't laugh at me. But I do believe they studied me. Or laughed at me. I remember being abducted. It wasn't just some bad dream or a hallucination. It happened.”
Arnold pat Trevor on the back. “Anything is possible. People are cruel. Absence of evidence does not mean evidence of absence.”
Trevor smiled. “Yeah, exactly.”
Arnold laughed. “Makes it pretty effing unlikely, though...”
Trevor sighed.
January 31, 0270 AC - 13:22
USS Freedom
Orbiting Artemis, Galactic Union Space
“Ah. Captain Devereaux.”
“Admiral.”
Akeldamas motioned for the captain to enter his quarters. “It looks like you are growing out a beard, good choice. Beards in the Middle Ages signified honor and masculinity.”
“You have a flowing beard and you do not have honor. I have too much on my mind to worry about the status of my facial hair.”
“Yes. Much on your mind. Now that you are on board, I will go over some specifics. Since another capable man will know the intricacies of the plan, I will feel better about the whole operation. Especially if things go wrong. Don't worry, I received clearance. You will also have a chat with the master.”
A trickle of blood left Devereaux's nose. “Oh joy.”
“You will learn your limits. It's much better just not to fight it.” Admiral Akeldamas hit some buttons on the computer panel on the wall of his quarters. A schematic of Exodus and Freedom appeared.
“This will not work, you know. It can't. People won't believe they had anything to do with it. Besides, we do not have enough enlisted for the exodus. Six hundred or so people have to sign up in eight days. I do not see that happening.”
“We will launch with less people. The media will regurgitate what we tell them. No one is the wiser if there is six hundred less people.”
“Then how about cut it down to zero and not murder anyone?”
“It's offensive to the lamb to call its sacrifice a murder. Some blood must be shed. Some people need to be wounded that their loves ones did not reach their destination. A small spark of pain is the best way to start a wildfire across the galaxy.”
Devereaux clutched his head in pain. “I guarantee by the end of all of this I will see you die in front of me. Hanged for the world to see. No one will get away with this. It's barbaric and just not right.”
“However, it is for a greater good. You understand that, right? Peace will, eventually, through hard work, come to the entire galaxy. We must work hard to reach that goal, and, yes, our hands will be bloody. We will honor those sacrifices made. The people who signed up for Exodus are heroes, and they do not even know it. The ends, my friend, justify the means.”
Devereaux shook his head. “No. There is peace now. Things are okay. Granted, not great, but this plan will bring about much pain and suffering. It will not bring peace.”
Akeldamas pressed some buttons on the computer and chuckled. “You are wrong, my friend. One day you will see the errors of your ways. Just be glad you are on our side. The side that will win the future battle.”
“I am not on your side.”
“It hurts so much to say that, right? Believe me, you are. There is no going back to your former life. You are ours. You should embrace it.”
“I will find a way,” Devereaux stated.
“That's cute.” Akeldamas chuckled. “Perhaps currently i
s a time of peace. Perhaps the grand plan is for naught. However, deep down you know the galaxy is painted with the black of corruption. You know that any second a war will erupt. It is peace time now, but only because we are reloading our weapons. We must prepare for this war with our own war. A war on our terms. A war we know we will win. Instead of fumbling around in the darkness, we will strike a match and follow the path to greatness. We will blaze the trail to glory.”
“Ridiculous,” scoffed the captain, clearly in pain.
“And soon, we will strike that match. Exodus will burn brightly for humanity. The four thousand enlisted did want to be trail blazers. They just did not fully understand their purpose.” Akeldamas pointed at the schematics, “Hyper-drive systems are notorious for going critical and taking the ship out with them if there is a problem while opening a jump point. In the 21st century, airplanes would still occasionally crash even though we thought we had mastered air travel. Humans aren't the master of anything. We take too much pride in our technologies that can easily betray us.”
“Which makes me wonder why they even bothered putting a hyper-drive in Exodus. Aren't they just going in stasis and flying to Andromeda using their inertia?”
“That is exactly the plan. In theory, they will only use the hyper-drive in Andromeda if they need it. After all, you can only travel in hyperspace in the galaxy proper. The hyper-flux is only situated around galaxies and it’s impossible to fly to another galaxy only using hyperspace. The plan is for Exodus to fly to the edge of the Milky Way's hyperspace and then launch toward Andromeda in standard space when they reach the edge. So the hyper-drive will be used and it will be their downfall.”
“And how will you end up causing the drive to go critical and flare?”
“It’s under control. As soon as the hyper-drive starts forming the jump point, an error will occur and the hyper-beam will not stabilize the warping of space. The captain will be given a choice to abort or continue; he will continue. If the engineers protest he will make sure the beam goes to full saturation. The particles will feedback and overload the tampered drive.” Akeldamas made an explosion gesture with his hands. “Boom. Hyperspace physics do not mix with our universe.”
“That is assuming Captain Turner doesn't abort the beam. He's a good man, he will realize the danger for the people on board. He's knows what he is doing,” Devereaux said.
“That may be,” Akeldamas said, “but he is on our side. He will allow the beam to overload. He swears it. If he doesn't, he will feel pain. You know the feeling. He is another sacrifice for the greater good.”
“You believe this is the greater good? Your methods are insane and dark! That poor old man is a legend in his own right and a good man. And you force him to do this? This whole thing is absolutely disgusting.”
“Watch your mouth. You belong to the master. Do not forget that. You may have a part to play, as well. On the first sign of trouble, if he doesn't hold his end of the bargain, it will fall to you. If the beam is aborted, Freedom will decide to open the jump point for them and in the end it still should cause a feedback pulse. It's just a backup plan, I am confident in Captain Turner.”
“And I suppose Captain Turner is a more convenient scapegoat?”
“Yes. We didn't even have a backup plan until you came on board. Jerry Turner has connections with pirates and the Confederation. He was even in the Mad Cats with Teresa Day, who we had on a holding station on Artemis before she was set free by her despicable cohorts. Even better, though, we can pin some of the blame on another nuisance. We can say they are all connected and have a better reason to take them all out.”
“People will think it was just an accident,” Devereaux said. “No one will truly believe Jerry Turner was the cause of the explosion.”
Akeldamas laughed. “They will believe it because the media will believe it. We will feed them information and people will doubt the accident story. Keep in mind this is just a spark. There is something bigger planned to actually ignite the war.”
“Thousands of people dying isn't big enough? That's deplorable. There's going to be more sacrifices?”
“We're tying up a lot of loose ends. Everything must be perfect for the war to begin. Be patient. This must come to pass though. Here, you can talk to the master himself. Make your doubts known to him. Surely you can convince him not to follow the plan!” mocked Akeldamas.
A short, hunched over, pale man appeared on Akeldamas’ computer display. The man was bald and had the look of a crazy person in his eyes. “Not here,” said the man.
“Captain Devereaux, meet Noctis Reek. Personal assistant to the master.”
“The massster!” Reek shouted.
“Yes. Yes, we know,” replied Akeldamas, “How have you been, my... friend?'
“The massster!” Reek shouted again.
Devereaux sighed. “I’m beginning to think we are doomed to fail.”
Reek began to speak, “The masster told me to report. Akeldamasss, you are not to pursssue the boy. He has ssaid it before but Jacob Carpenter means nothing. Untouchable he is. Waste of ressourcess. The masster busy. Looking over the ‘planet killer’ plans. That is all. The Exodusss must be desstroyed, do not fail!”
The transmission ended abruptly.
Devereaux looked at Akeldamas with confusion. “Planet killer? Jacob Carpenter? What?”
“Nothing that concerns you. For now, your only job is not reveal our plans and to make sure the destruction of Exodus comes to pass. Let me worry about Carpenter and let the master worry about our future plans. Just know that the universe will tremble before us.”
January 31, 0270 AC - 14:32
Captain's Quarters, CFS Iriguchi
Neutral Space
“Thank you, sir, for talking to me,” said Captain Tanari Oshiro to a man on his video screen.
The gentleman wasn't paying attention to Oshiro. The man rustled through some papers.
Oshiro raised his voice. “Admiral Kitakami?”
The admiral stopped shuffling through the papers. “Sorry, sorry. I'm busy and I'm trying to find...” Admiral Kitakami said.
“Sir, by now, I assume you have heard the news? Kurosawa was found dead in his quarters. I think it was murder. We brought him aboard Iriguchi and are doing an autopsy. As soon as we figure out the details of his death we're going back onto the Cove to do a full investigation. Right now the Cove has no leads, but soon we will figure out what is happening, I swear it.”
Kitakami continued looking through his papers.
Oshiro continued, “I’m convinced this is connected to the bombing on the Silver Cove.” Oshiro slammed his fist onto the desk. “I will find those responsible!”
Kitakami paused shuffling through his papers and finally looked toward his display. “Look. This isn't easy to say, and the orders... the orders don't come from me alone. All of the state leaders agree, even Emperor Yoshino agrees, and you know how hard it is to get him to agree to anything. But, no, you will not perform an investigation. I am not going to put more men in jeopardy. I definitely do not want to put you in jeopardy.”
“What are you saying?!”
Kitakami sighed. “Listen, Captain, all we know is that blood has been shed more than once on that station. We can't trust pirates. You may in the past have associated with them, but, look, admit they are mostly criminals. Admit to me that appealing to them probably isn't in the best of our interests.”
“No. I can't have this. We must continue Kurosawa's work in his honor. We can't run now,” Oshiro insisted.
“But run we shall. Kurosawa's death saddens us all. I don't want to mourn even more people. You trust those at Silver Cove, don't you? Well they did their own investigation and could not find any real leads. We try to send our own team to figure out what's going on and Kurosawa is killed and we, again, have no leads. We're getting set up for a bloodletting.”
“We came all this way just to leave? We are letting them win!” exclaimed Oshiro.
“No.
We are tactically withdrawing because we will not let them win,” Kitakami said. “We will not be lambs to the slaughter. We will not fight dishonorably. We will prepare for war because the bloodshed will spread. Iriguchi will be brought back to Confederate space and will prepare for the upcoming battle. We will face this threat intelligently. We have mobilized our forces along the neutral zone. Nearby planets and stations near the zone have been reinforced. We're ready.”
“We must get to the bottom of this tragedy!”
“And we will one day when the dust has settled. I cherish life. There was a bomb on a space station that has little to do with the Confederation. We were blamed, but we know we didn't do it. Everyone knows we couldn't have done it. Silver Cove trusts us enough that they allowed us to conduct our own investigation. But it is not worth it. No blood has been shed on our own soil, yet. And that is what we must defend. We must defend our home. Return to Confederate space and be prepared to defend our home with honor. You have your orders. Dismissed!”
The transmission ended. Tanari Oshiro slammed his fist onto the desk again. “Captain to bridge... We're going home. Begin jump preparations. I know, I know. I don't want to do it either. Computer, send a message to Captain Hawk. Tell him we will get to the bottom of this but for now we must grieve for Mr. Kurosawa. We thank him for his hospitality. I will return the favor one day.” Tanari Oshiro stood up from his chair. I have to say farewell to Kurosawa. I have to apologize to him. Even if he can't hear me.
The captain walked out of his quarters and slowly walked the hall. Oshiro recognized a man in a suit and tie that walked past him. The suited man was carrying some sort of silver cylindrical container. Oshiro instantly connected this man with another man he had seen before. “You–you there! Stop!”
