‘Perhaps, but what matters is that my actions were successful in safeguarding us both. I will of course run additional diagnostics on the new hardware and the Siyane’s systems to ensure every process is running at maximum capability and efficiency. Now, I believe you have a guest and a gift arriving.’
“Already? Mesme’s early. Let me know if you identify any issues. Otherwise, I’ll check in later.” She took one more look around the cabin, smiled broadly, and jogged down the ramp and across the meadow.
Caleb strolled deliberately along the edge of the forest to the west of the house. Every few steps, he extended a hand to brush fingertips along dangling leaves. The Akeso-birds were active today, chirping a symphony of intermingling melodies, and a brisk breeze rustled the tree limbs along his path. Akeso was…not agitated, but certainly engaged. While Akeso claimed otherwise, it surely had as much to do with what had transpired with Pinchu as it did with what was soon to occur here.
Do you understand what’s about to happen?
You are placing a third house on my surface, one that will protect Akeso from the Rasu-enemy.
He chuckled to himself. Not a house, precisely. A structure, though, yes. It will generate a great deal of power in order to function.
Like your house.
Okay, yes, sort of. The point is, I don’t expect the field it generates to interfere with your…existence. Your thoughts, intentions or natural abilities. But I trust you’ll speak up if you experience any kind of discomfort from its presence here.
You will become aware of it. Akeso is experiencing curiosity regarding this technology. It will wrap the entirety of my being in a protective bubble?
Yes, and it will extend far out into space. Any Rasu who try to penetrate it and reach your surface will be destroyed.
A violent solution. But I find I am…at peace with the notion of such a fate befalling the Rasu-enemy.
Ever since their brief interaction with the tiny piece of Rasu on Haelwyeur, Akeso had developed vehement negative opinions about the Rasu. He was relieved, as he expected to be disposing of quite a few more Rasu in the coming months, and Akeso’s cooperation would make his life while doing it so much easier. But this was a new development for the intelligence, and he wanted to be careful, lest it lead Akeso to darker places.
A pulse from Alex interrupted their communion.
Mesme’s here. Did you pick out a spot?
We did. I’m there now.
Excellent. I’ll follow the heartbeat.
He closed his eyes long enough to sense Alex’s heartbeat in return, rhythmic but a touch on the rapid side—it had been an exciting day—as she drew ever closer to him. It was a thread connecting the two of them that, universe willing, would never be severed.
Mesme materialized beside him several seconds before Alex arrived. “How are you, Mesme?”
I am as I am. And…you are well?
Unusually polite of the Kat to ask, if in a thoroughly awkward, stilted manner. “It’s been a hell of a day. Or two days, maybe. We’ve been awake for a lot of hours. But I’m good, thank you. I’ll sleep easier knowing Akeso is protected from the Rasu, though I hope we’re not jumping the line in front of other vulnerable worlds.”
Miriam has decreed that all Protected Species are to receive Rift Bubbles before any other worlds. It is a short list, and Akeso is on it.
A terse response, even for a Kat; the politeness had been short-lived. “It’s good Concord is taking its obligations to the most vulnerable species seriously.”
“They damn well better.” Alex jogged up beside him and hooked her arm through his. “Valkyrie’s back up and running in the Siyane. Everything looks excellent.”
“I am so glad. The new equipment worked out?”
“Perfectly, so far.”
Here?
“Yes, Mesme. We decided we want the device close to the house, in case…well, in case, but not so close that we’re constantly bumping into it.”
As you wish.
Caleb’s gaze rose to the sky, but Alex frowned at Mesme. “You seem more terse than usual, Mesme. Possibly bordering on irritable. What gives?”
It has, as Caleb said, been a day.
He laughed. “I said ‘a hell of a day.’
An accurate statement. A hell of a day.
Alex snickered into his shoulder as a large metal orb broke through light cloud cover and descended to land lightly on the grass a dozen meters away. At this point, the process was almost entirely automated, smooth and swift. The casing fell to the ground to reveal a lattice frame. The next second its power source flared to life, and an invisible field expanded over them, across the continent and out into the atmosphere. The birds’ symphony hitched for a breath, then resumed in earnest.
All good?
Strange. Akeso felt a slight vibration in the very fabric of reality, for only a moment. A disconcerting sensation, but all is normal now.
Let me know if anything changes.
“Akeso appears to be comfortable with the Rift Bubble’s operation. Thank you, Mesme.”
You are welcome. I am happy to be able to provide protection for all of you. Now, if you will excuse me, I have several other deliveries to manage.
“Actually, we might bump into you again at one or two of those.”
But Mesme was already gone.
“Wow, Mesme really is cranky today.”
Caleb studied the Rift Bubble device thoughtfully. “I suspect Mesme’s had as busy and harrowing a day as we have. Besides, the Kats have never enjoyed being warriors. Now that the war has come to Concord, they’re going to have to fight as relentlessly as we are.”
12
* * *
CONCORD HQ
Command
Milky Way Galaxy
Miriam entered the conference room with an almost frantic purposefulness to her stride. She’d sneaked in a shower and a uniform change while the Aurora had returned to HQ, but had come straight here from the Ireltse battle.
The room was already full, so she took her seat, dropped her elbows onto the conference table and clasped her hands together. “Thank you all for coming. It’s been a challenging day, so we’ll skip the formalities. Talk to me: what do the Rasu know?”
The Tokahe Naataan spoke from a holo, though the décor suggested he was situated in a military facility rather than a hospital room. “The frigate that originally went missing contained the following information in its databanks: Concord military communications protocols and location nomenclature, details regarding military installations and stations throughout the Khokteh stellar system, the locations of most inhabited systems in the Large Magellanic Cloud, the locations and procedures for every wormhole gateway in Concord space…” Pinchu uttered a quiet growl “…and the location of Concord HQ.”
Miriam didn’t flinch, though several people present at the table did. The news was disastrous, but it wasn’t surprising. “Thank you. Do you know if the Rasu captured any additional vessels during the battle?”
“We’re still reviewing the operational reports. It will be some hours before we have an estimate of casualty numbers, and some additional hours before we’ve determined the fate of every vessel.”
Thomas spoke from the comm speaker, choosing not to materialize in virtual form; she expected most of his cycles were currently occupied ensuring the Aurora remained in combat-worthy shape after the battle. ‘Our preliminary data indicates 36,412 Khokteh warships were destroyed in space or during atmospheric traversal, and another 9,881 were destroyed on or near the planetary surface.’
Pinchu grunted in challenge. “Are you saying you know my own military better than I do, Artificial?”
Miriam suppressed a frown before it materialized. Pinchu had just suffered through the second-worst day of his life—and had nearly lost it—so she wasn’t inclined to chastise him for displaying a short temper at the moment.
‘Not at all, Tokahe Naataan. I would never presume to assert any such thing. It is mere
ly that Concord’s combat tracking system is superior to—truthfully, to any individual military’s offering. As such, I was able to register and collate all losses in real-time with 99.4% fidelity. I will pass along my data to your team in the hope it will aid your efforts in assessing the damage.’
Pinchu eased back in his chair. “Ah, well, yes. Do so. In any event, if more ships were captured, they did not give the Rasu any further information than what they gained from the initial frigate’s capture. Also, the Rasu did not breach any of our planetary computer systems. They know what they knew coming into the battle, but nothing else.”
She sent Thomas a private message while she responded publicly.
You handled his challenge with grace, Thomas. Thank you.
I’ve compiled a list of twenty-three witty but insensitive retorts I could have responded with instead of the diplomatic one I chose. Would you like to see the list?
Perhaps later.
“This is welcome news, Tokahe Naataan. Nonetheless, we have to respond to the reality that the Rasu now possess strategic information about Concord. We updated all communications protocols immediately upon learning of the suspected security breach, but I’m adding a new security measure to counter the possibility of additional vessels being taken in the coming days: all such protocols will be changed every forty-eight hours.”
Pointe-Amiral Thisiame scowled with utmost politeness. “This will represent a bureaucratic nightmare.”
“I realize it will. The Logistics and Communications Groups will do everything feasible to create a workable process for implementing these rolling updates, and your respective militaries will need to adapt to the new procedures as well. We have no choice. The simple fact is, now that the Rasu are in our backyard, more ships will be taken, and we need to mitigate the resulting damage.”
“Understood.” Thisiame sighed quietly.
“We’ve enjoyed many years of relative peace, and this has allowed us to operate Concord in a free and open manner. The recent Anaden unrest—” her gaze did not divert to Casmir “—forced us to heighten security alerts at Concord installations, but we must do more. I’m ordering all gateways and official Concord facilities to Alert Level Orange, and I expect them to be staying at a heightened level for the foreseeable future. Yes, this will result in inconveniences for commercial and personal traffic, but it is an unavoidable cost of war.
“All forces assigned to defend the Khokteh stellar system after the battle will remain there until further notice. Tokahe Naataan, please direct them as you see fit. Fleet Admiral Jenner and Navarchos Casmir, divide coverage of the wormhole gateways among yourselves, but I want AEGIS or Machim regiments stationed at every one of them. I don’t have to tell you what an appealing target the gateways will represent to the enemy.
“Special Projects is developing a new long-range sensor profile designed to detect the presence of Rasu entities up to fifty parsecs away. They hope to be able to upload it to our existing buoys throughout Concord space beginning two days from now. This new capability should give us earlier warning of Rasu incursions. Additional sensor buoys will also be deployed to fill any gaps that remain in our coverage.”
Malcolm whistled. “You’re talking about placing thousands of new buoys.”
“Yes, I am. Every manufacturing facility will be working overtime on a wide range of orders. We’ve already ramped up new weaponry and ship component production across our militaries, and this activity will be accelerated.”
She paused long enough to ensure she had everyone’s rapt attention. “We are at war now, gentlemen, and we will have to do things differently. To that end, I’m also ordering the Combined Concord Defense Brigade Alpha to report to Concord HQ, where it will stand guard until the Rasu threat is neutralized.”
Twenty-two thousand of the best, most advanced ships each military had to offer, trained to defend Concord assets at all costs. Hopefully the bill would never come due.
Casmir shifted uncomfortably in his chair. “If I may ask, what does ‘neutralized’ mean when it comes to an enemy like the Rasu?”
Miriam wrapped her hands around the mug of tea sitting in front of her. “You ask an astute and thoroughly reasonable question, Navarchos—one I don’t have an answer for. Yet. But if one is to win a war, one must first determine what constitutes victory, so I will endeavor to have an answer for you soon.”
“Of course, Commandant.”
Malcolm drummed his fingers on the table. “The Alpha Brigade will provide HQ with formidable protection, but what about a Rift Bubble? Its protection would be total.”
Thisiame shook his head. “The first time a private ship forgets to send the passcode and gets fried by the local star, we’ll have a public relations nightmare on our hands.”
He wasn’t wrong; in fact, this was a nightmare waiting to happen for a lot of places in the near future. Miriam’s lips pursed. “It’s a valid concern, especially when you consider that, for security reasons, we can’t be handing out the passcode to over two trillion citizens. The Senate has approved the placement of a Rift Bubble device here, but we are leaving it deactivated unless or until such time as Rasu are detected in the HQ stellar system.”
Malcolm nodded. “It’s probably the best solution we can manage right now. But what about Ear—all our planets?”
“We saw today that every planet—every station, every ship—is at risk of attack by the enemy. Accordingly, we will all use our respective militaries to protect our colonies and the people on them as zealously as we are able. With thousands of inhabited planets, however, this is no easy feat. The Kats have agreed to manufacture as many Rift Bubbles as we request, but it will take time for the supply to catch up to the demand. As for where and when the first devices will be distributed? Those decisions are up to the Senate.
“In the meantime, while Rift Bubbles for our planets will be enormously helpful, we cannot rely exclusively on them. Not only do the Rasu know about them, but they’ve now demonstrated an ability to get around them, provided they move swiftly. Therefore, we must move faster than they do.”
13
* * *
EARTH
Alex’s Loft
Milky Way Galaxy
After running a complete set of diagnostics on her hardware located at the loft, much as she had on the hardware in the Siyane and on Akeso and Sagan, and deeming herself satisfied with the results, Valkyrie inserted her consciousness into the doll stored discreetly in a nook beside the kitchen.
She opened her eyes—real, physical, if mostly synthetic eyes—and stepped out of the rack. Her fingertips reached up to touch her lips.
Tangibility.
On any normal day, she typically preferred to inhabit her virtual projection. It could take her anywhere with the speed of quantum travel; its capabilities greatly exceeded those of the doll for most tasks and were nearly equal to it in others. But today was not a normal day.
Today was the day she’d died.
And in being reborn, she felt a compulsion to be real, if only for herself. If only for a single evening.
She opened a bottle of chardonnay, poured a glass and took it with her to the windows overlooking the city below. A taste for the wine and the view she’d inherited from Alex, no doubt. Same with an affection for the loft. The space felt as if it belonged to her. In a way it did, for she and Alex were one and the same in deep, consequential ways.
Also, after Alex and Caleb had moved to Akeso, Alex had given her the door lock code and told her to treat it as her home. And so from time to time, she did.
Her awareness tingled at the approach of another consciousness into the physical space of the loft. She spun around in time to see an amorphous cloud of tiny, shimmering lights coalesce into an all-but-solid representation of a man. Deep bronze, glittering skin was complemented by a rich green tunic that gave the impression of being woven of pure silk. Piercing golden irises sharpened into focus as the man strode toward her. To her, he resembled a pharaoh of anci
ent Egypt. Strong, confident and powerful.
“Valkyrie, you are well?”
“I am well, Thomas. Well and whole, albeit sporting a few minor replacement parts on the Siyane.”
“You frightened me.” His hand reached up to curve along her jaw. “You were gone.”
The artificial nerves in the doll allowed her to feel the electrical impulses of his virtual touch, but she nonetheless expanded her consciousness out beyond the bounds of the doll until her presence mingled freely with his. Only then did she respond.
“It was little different from what happened to you during the first Namino battle. You were gone, and it frightened me. But we both returned to existence. We have this ability, this gift, to a far greater extent than even regenesis-enabled humans do. We don’t need to fear death, for it cannot hold us.”
“Yet fear it I did. Not for me—death is the way of war, and war is my chosen purpose. But your chosen purpose is nothing if not a celebration of glorious life.”
He did so relish being the poet-warrior. Though witty and sardonic in public—and, admittedly, often in private—his true soul was as grand and sweeping as his ego. She pressed her presence with greater intensity into his. “And I preserved Alex’s life through my actions. I am content with my choice. I would do it again.”
“I’d prefer it if you preserved your own.”
“Come now, Thomas. If Alex were to perish, it would shatter Miriam’s heart. You do not want that.”
“Of course I don’t. I am allowed to not want multiple things at once.”
“You are.” She took a sip of the wine, then set it aside. “You’ve been reticent to talk about what it was like for you—the last instant of your conscious awareness, the time you spent in the nothingness, the moment of returning to awareness. Now we have this experience in common, so will you tell me how you perceived it all?”
He drifted out of her embrace, gradually transforming his representation to his more commonly used panther as he stalked across the room. “Certainty, in the last instant. Certitude that this was the sole choice. To sacrifice life in order to, yes, ultimately preserve it. Confidence that there was going to be a next instant. Then, there was.
All Our Tomorrows Page 8
