Equilibrium of Terror: Part 2

by Eddie R. Hicks

  Chloe grimaced, she knew where her story was leading. “Vaishea.”

  “Vaishea was one of my names, one of the personas I used on missions. I created her and placed those memories into your body while you recovered from your injuries suffered at the battle on Foicanta. During which your memories were transferred to my body as I uploaded mine into the Whisper data base. Vaish was gone, and those that suspected I took on a new identity followed you as Vaishea.”

  Chloe leaned closer and examined the shape of Vaish’s face. It was too perfect for her to simply be someone that happened to look like her, not to mention the scars on her back. Vaish at one point had them too, until they were healed after her near-death experience. Nevertheless, Vaish was a perfect copy of Chloe just in the form of a Linl rather than human.

  “Why do we look alike?” Chloe asked her.

  “I should be asking you that same question. Why do you look like me?” Vaish said. It wasn’t the answer Chloe was looking for.

  “So, Vaishea inside my head was nothing more than a decoy?”

  “Decoy and backup plan in case I failed,” Vaish said. “She was programmed to search for all information pertaining to the order in the system should she encounter suspicious activity, and make contact with a Whisper safe house and report everything I knew once the proper triggers were activated.”

  “Meanwhile Fiesei was supposed to come in and wake you up.”

  “I hoped at least. Fiesei had other plans that revolved around the exiled. I did too, until I learnt of the Lyonria.” Vaish’s lips curled as she asked. “Tell me what became of my beloved husband?”

  It was the one question Chloe hoped she wasn’t going to ask so quickly, as it was the question she wasn’t going to give a truthful answer to. “He’s gone,” Chloe said.

  “What do you mean gone?”

  She doesn’t know, she has no access to my memories. “I’m sorry, to tell you that. Fiesei was killed two months ago.”

  “By who?”

  By me in control of your body, but that’s on a need to know. “I’m sorry for your loss, he must have meant a great deal to you.” Must have? I know he was I saw bits of your past memories.

  “By who!” Vaish’s anger intensified, she probably sensed that she wasn’t being truthful Chloe figured.

  Chloe stood and went to the exit. “I got to go.”

  “Don’t! Please.” Vaish’s tone changed. “I need you.”

  “Got more to say?”

  “You need to put an end to the chaos on Oyuri and Rasi.”

  “We’re looking into it.”

  “No, you need to do it.”

  “Why me?”

  “Vaishea is still in your head, isn’t she?”

  “How would you know that? What does Vaishea have to do with it?”

  “Tell me who killed my husband first.”

  Chloe rolled her eyes at Vaish and returned to the exit. “Alright, I’m going to peace out. If she has anything more to say let me know.”

  ESV Winston Churchill, Uranus sector, Sol system

  The UNE fleet slowly began to backtrack and recapture the outposts and bases lost or abandoned due to the imperial threat. The asteroid belt was secured first then came Jupiter and its moons, then Saturn and its moons. There was a surprise waiting for the Winston Churchill as it arrived back at Titan. A lone transport with Michei aboard it was waiting for them. They were glad to get the help. Crimei wasn’t pleased with the deception that was used for Michei to escape the recall order.

  But now wasn’t the time to debate that as there were other more pressing issues at hand such as the fate of the marines whom Xavier hadn’t heard from since they entered the Kuiper belt wormhole. Then there was EDF who was still aboard the Leviathan which straight up vanished from sensors and ESP.

  Uranus was next on the list as the UNE fleet arrived with extreme caution. The imperial fleet remained in a stationary orbit with the gas giant while the Winston Churchill moved in closer to take a look while its QEC transmitted all data back to Earth in real time.

  “Any signs they see us?” Xavier asked.

  “They see us and probably saw us coming with ESP,” Matsushita said. “None of them are arming their weapons.”

  Michei and Avearan concurred, their ESP showed no signs of hostility from the Hashmedai forces. It allowed Xavier to have a more relaxed demeanor, not just because they were not likely to be fired upon, but he now had not one, but two psionics on the bridge.

  “Got a ship moving closer,” Matsushita said.

  Xavier looked at the central holographic screen, he was right a solo destroyer was en route to the Winston Churchill. “Any funny stuff and we nuke them,” he said.

  “Captain, they are trying to communicate with us,” Yates said.

  Xavier looked at the young communications officer, as she had a shocked look on her face. The same one Xavier possessed and shot back at her. “They wanna talk huh? Well put ‘em through.”

  The central hologram shifted into a projection of a Hashmedai woman aboard the bridge of the Destroyer in question. She sat cross-legged on her commander’s chair wearing an imperial navy uniform, and spoke in their alien language.

  Nobody on the bridge understood a word she said save for Avearan. “Yeah, I had a feeling this would happen,” Xavier said. “EVE can you clean this up?”

  EVE’s android platform may have been gone, but a copy of her AI still existed inside the computers of all UNE ships, including the Winston Churchill. “Standby,” EVE said over the bridge’s speakers. “I am done, Captain. I will translate what she speaks and will translate your words into Hashmedai for her to understand.”

  “Thank you,” Xavier said, then addressed the hologram. “I’m Captain Martin Xavier of the ESV Winston Churchill, to whom am I speaking to?”

  The Hashmedai commander began to speak after a small delay. EVE’s voice was dubbed over hers as she said. “I am Captain T’esih of the imperial destroyer Scathing Hand. Please stand down as we have received new orders from our empress to withdraw and discontinue the war.”

  “Is there a reason for the sudden change?”

  “I’ve been ordered to tell your leaders everything.”

  “Standby,” Xavier said as he muted their conversation to address the bridge crew. “Well everyone, it would appear we have some guests.”

  Abyssal Liberator, edge of Barnard’s Star system

  Karklosea had awoken to the sight of bright lights beaming down from the ceiling and the sounds of familiar voices speaking in the distance. She shifted her body to the side and saw she was in the infirmary of the Liberator. The doctors next to her were part of the Explorer’s medical staff that managed to survive.

  “Ugh, did we succeed?” she asked.

  “We have control of the ship,” one of them said to her. “We officially took control of it just in time too. You were seconds away from death when we found you.”

  She moved her body right side up to face them, “What about the rest of the ships?

  “We're still picking up the last of our people from Oyuri.”

  “I mean the Radiance fleet here in the system.”

  A shrug was the answer she got. Understandable as she saw many of the doctors treating the battle wounds everyone had suffered. She travelled to the bridge the normal way, moving through the halls and into the elevator as her psionic mind was still weakened from the bout with Dargonea. Dargonea who apparently was a Muodiry. Karklosea felt a certain level of guilt, for she had spoken ill of Muodiry in the past and possibly in front of Dargonea without realizing it and probably created the false sense that she favored her less.

  Karklosea arrived at the bridge and saw her crew working despite the damage done to it during the fighting. Many of them floated next to computers and terminals either working with them or performing quick repairs.

  “You didn’t do it, did you?” she asked one of her officers.

  “We were waiting for you to awake,” he said. “You le
d us this far, and have a plan to lead us further. We need you to be a part of this.”

  Karklosea telekinetically moved her body to a flickering console, then allowed her mind to possess a data crystal the officer kept in his pockets. The crystal floated next to the computer, spun, and entered into a slot. The contents within it began to upload the last flight data and video logs of the Explorer into the Liberator’s data banks, their proof that the order was aboard the Explorer and was attacked by the Pelican which was also under control of the order.

  Karklosea began to focus and allowed her thoughts to become one with the ships computers and forced it to transmit the data to all Radiance ships in the system, minus the Pelican of course. For good measure she also acquired logs from the Liberator, images of Dargonea indoctrinating the crew as they began to praise the Celestial Order, and added it to the broadcast. After her mountain of evidence linking the order to all the chaos in the system was sent, she added the location of coordinates for the fleet to rally at the edge of the system.

  “It’s done,” Karklosea said. “How soon can we depart?”

  “The last of our transports from Oyuri will be here within the hour.”

  “Have repair teams do the best they can to get this ship ready for combat in that time,”

  Karklosea floated toward the captain’s chair, it belonged to her now, and she was more than willing to take on the challenge of captain and shipboard psionic. As she strapped herself into the chair, her ESP detected the presence of a ship jumping into the system. It was near Oyuri and its design and size was similar to the Pelican, only built by Hashmedai. Yet it didn’t fire upon the Pelican nor did the Pelican fire at it. Strange part of it all was its mass. It was inconsistent, as if it was able to manipulate it at will.

  “Correction,” she said. “Tell those teams to move double-time.”

  UNE transports, Rasi’s ocean, Barnard’s Star system

  Multiple flashes of light erupted from the event horizon of the undersea wormhole in the oceans of Rasi. Large slabs of ice were blasted away, formed thanks to the coldness of space where the wormhole had led. A rippling vortex in the middle of the oceans allowed a small fleet of UNE transports to traverse through the wormhole and into the cold dark oceans as if they were submarines.

  The switch from space to an alien ocean was a rush Staff Sergeant Jacob Miles was looking forward to for the last five days, not to mention the feeling of gravity once again, though it was much lighter than what he was used to, it felt almost Mars like.

  “What’s our status?” he asked.

  Petropoulos eyed her holo screen as she sat up front in the cockpit. “We’re holding together nicely, sir,” she said. “The last transport is passing through the wormhole now.”

  He moved in closer and gazed at the sensor data coming through, the lower section of the arcology that was in the oceans. He pointed to small doors along the sides of the hulking structure. “Those look like airlocks.”

  “They look a bit different from the standard ones found on ships,” Petropoulos said. “Maintenance hatches by the looks.”

  “Whatever,” he said and moved toward the rear section of the transport and looked at the heavy exosuit and all of the armaments on it. “Just as long as I can get this bad boy through.”

  The heavy exosuit was something he had been looking forward to using in combat since it first arrived on the Winston Churchill. It was eight feet tall and had small plasma missile launchers mounted to it, stronger jump jets and an arm mounted shield similar to the ones Hashmedai guardians use. Amongst other goodies, like a deployable cover.

  Petropoulos turned around and saw what he was talking about. “You might have to crawl, but I think we can fit those through.”

  “Fuck yes!”

  “For being on your hands and knees sir? Didn’t know you were into that.”

  “No!” He said and faced her as she laughed. “For being able to use this, you twit!”

  Headlights on the front of the transports led the way though the ocean and past its unique eyeless aquatic life. The lower section of the arcology came into view some time later, as expected by the intel provided, there wasn’t much signs of life. Jacob hoped the same wasn’t going to be said for the humans they came to rescue. Their transports spun around and maneuvered closer to hook onto the maintenance hatches.

  A positive connection was made and everyone aboard the transport and others that latched on began to suit up and arm themselves. Some wore the standard exosuit, while others like Jacob used the big guns to lead the charge.

  “Alright get ready to unload,” he said. “Once we’re all in, I want the three empty transports on standby ready to take in the civilians once we find ‘em.”

  “Expect a lot of psionic attacks from the Celestial Order and the wraith,” Petropoulos said.

  “Aye don’t be afraid to back up if yer shields runnin’ low. There won’t be any backup for this op. In other words, nobody is allowed to die.”

  He downloaded the intel from the Silver Raven onto his suit’s computers. A digital map appeared in front of his holographic HUD and it listed everything they needed to know about the upcoming op. He transmitted the data to the helmets of everyone else as it projected a line directing them to the slums district from their current location.

  They were good to do and the transport doors opened, while Jacob’s heavily armed fists ripped open the maintenance hatch like it was a door made of cardboard. Minutes later the brave marines exited the sewers and jump-jetted up into the streets one by one. The city within the arcology was in a shambles. They pushed further in with their new eRifles in hand, and the mounted plasma bayonet at the tip.

  Leviathan, near Oyuri, Barnard’s Star system

  A dazzling singularity appeared ten light minutes away from Oyuri; it connected Barnard’s Star to the Sol system and remained stable via ethereal energy that covered the throat of the vortex. A new wormhole came into existence.

  “There, it’s done,” Noylarlie said, before taking a deep breath.

  “Splendid,” Yominv said, eyeing her newest psionic creation. “Contact the rest of our forces. Tell them to pass through it quickly before anyone else detects the wormhole.”

  “Understood,” Gayir said.

  “Noylarlie, once they’ve made it through I want you to terminate the wormhole for the time being,” Yominv said.

  “As you wish,” Noylarlie said, she lied for she had no plans on shutting it down right away, not while EVE was using it to send a message through to the human forces on the other side.

  “Actually, keep it open a bit longer.” The two turned around, surprised that there was another person on the bridge that had something to say about the wormhole.

  Yominv smiled at the presence of the Assassins’ Guild master. “Torval, I was wondering who the Pelican sent over to visit us.”

  Torval stepped closer to Noylarlie and asked. “Kroshka’s pendant, do you have it?”

  Noylarlie gritted her teeth as she was wearing it, and regretted doing so now they were going to take it from her. She had hoped to keep it to herself awhile longer to learn the secrets of its power.

  “That looks like it,” Torval said, eying it, or was it her chest? With old men like him it was hard to tell sometimes. “Please hand it over.”

  Noylarlie projected a fake smile and did as asked. She reached up and wrapped her hands around the crimson pendant and handed it over to Torval, with every intention of getting it back. An extremely relieved look graced Torval’s face as he walked, no, ran away back into the elevator.

  “Leaving us already guild master?” Yominv called out to him.

  “I have important business on Oyuri!” Torval said as the doors slid shut.

  “Are we done?” she asked.

  Yominv nodded. “Yes Noylarlie, for now.

  Noylarlie appeared back into her quarters, prompting her newfound allies to tilt their gaze toward her as she finished the jump port.

  “We need
to act soon,” Noylarlie said urgently.

  “It will be at least an hour before my message arrives at the Winston Churchill,” EVE said.

  “And another two hours for them to arrive, if they come,” Noylarlie said. “Torval will be at Oyuri at that time.”

  “What happened?” Onatiasha said.

  Noylarlie indicated where her missing pendant had been. “An attack now may delay his departure to the Pelican.”

  “And get the Pelican to assist the Leviathan which is not part of the plan,” Di’aria said.

  Teleporting to Oyuri wasn’t an option either as they were out of range and psionics without environment suits died a slow painful death in the outside world. And there was no way she was going to convince Yominv to lend her a transport. The Admiral was going to need psionics aboard that weren’t involved with the jump to be active. The gem was gone, and there was nothing she could do about it until they finished taking control of the Leviathan.

  As EVE’s encrypted transmission traveled through space, into the wormhole, then toward the Winston Churchill, another hidden message was being sent. It came from the pendant that was in Torval’s possession while he rode a transport down toward Oyuri. The message was the same one that touched Ella’s mind, and forced her to transfer the goddess that resisted in her along with her corresponding gem to Hannah. The same message that made Chloe do the same during her last visit to Oyuri. And the same one that attempted to make Jazz join in, only the process was incomplete. Jazz might have been in the system, but the gem was in Kroshka’s ownership dozens of light years away.

  The situation changed as the gem found its presence to be near Oyuri, and the wormhole linking Barnard’s Star to Sol. Jazz’s mind could once again be touched and controlled, the voice of Emelia could be heard and obeyed.

  Silver Raven docked aboard ESV Winston Churchill, Uranus orbit, Sol system