The Broken Reign

by Jeremy Michelson

  “Network is activated,” the ship said.

  “What do you think that is, Cap?” Lou asked.

  “Some sort of defense net, maybe?” the Captain said, “You got anything, Tony?”

  The thin one they called Tony bent over one of the tables. Lights and figures danced over it.

  “Hard to tell, Cap,” he said, “This thing is sending out all kinds of weird telemetry.” He touched the table. The shapes and images flowed away from his hand. “It won’t let me access the controls.”

  “Can you tell it to give us access?” the Captain asked her.

  “Not yet,” she said.

  The Captain swore and threw himself back in the chair. “Then what the hell did you need us up here for, lady?” he asked. “This damned ship flies itself.”

  “I don’t know,” she said, “But things will become clear soon. I think.”

  “That doesn’t sound promising,” the Captain said.

  “Network at 85% power,” the ship said, “What is your destination?”

  The Captain sat up. “Destination?”

  The Red Witch drew her cloak tight around her. The weight of Sonomorte pulled on her shoulders.

  “Captain,” Tony said. His head was bent over the table. “I think there’s something really weird going on here. If I’m reading this right, this is the same kind of telemetry I was getting right before we hit that anomaly.”

  “Shit. You think this satellite network is doing it?”

  “What else?”

  The Red Witch turned away from them. The red triangles on the screen were spinning again. They stopped, turning green as they did.

  “Network at 100%,” the ship said, “Destination?”

  "Invert and gather," The Red Witch said. Words from father's book. She didn't know what they meant. Only that it had to do with what was expected next of her. What we ask of you now is more than anyone should ever be asked. It is your choice. You are free, Saven. Do what your heart tells you is best for you.

  Her entire life had been directed toward this moment. Freedom was an illusion. For a moment anger flared at father. He had manipulated her into this. He and mother. They knew what was going to happen.

  But it was the only way to save their world from endless war.

  The anger drained away, replaced by calm and resolve.

  “Network inverted,” the ship said, “Warning inversion will result in an uncontrolled energy release within 180 seconds. What is your gather point?”

  The Red Witch drew a trembling breath. “Gather point beneath...” The term father had used slipped her mind. Or maybe her mind was trying to stop her from doing thing.

  This is where you step into the unknown. I don’t know if this will work. I believe it will, but I don’t know what’s going to happen after a certain point. I believe in you, though.

  Father’s words to her. She had no choice but to believe.

  “Gather point 100 meters below forward airlock,” she said.

  "Setting gather point 100 meters below forward airlock," the ship said, "Warning. Setting gather point at that distance may result in damage to ship systems."

  "Acknowledged," The Red Witch said, "Direct me to the forward airlock."

  She turned to exit. Captain Kelsey was on his feet, he moved to block her.

  “What the hell is that?” he asked. “What is this about uncontrolled energy release and possible damage to ship systems?”

  The Red Witch looked past him. A red bar was pulsing on the wall next to the door.

  “I do not have time to explain Captain,” she said. “You will have to believe this will work.”

  “What will work lady?” he said, “You’re not going anywhere until you tell me what’s going to happen.”

  “Move aside. I need to get to the forward airlock,” she said.

  He reached for her and she stepped back. “Do you remember the last time you tried to touch me Captain?” she asked.

  The Captain’s face twisted with anger. He clenched his fist and lowered his arm.

  “You will have to trust me just a little bit longer,” she said. She raised her eyes to the red disk on the ceiling. “Cuore del Sangre, one second before the inversion’s energy release, turn full manual control of the ship over to Captain Kelsey and his crew.”

  She glanced around the room. The crew looked grim and anxious.

  “Good luck to all of you,” she said.

  She stepped around the Captain and walked off the command deck.

  Eighty-Six

  The Red Witch

  The Red Witch ran, following the pulsing bars. Her black robe whipped around her body. Sonomorte banged against her back.

  Heart pounding, she came to stop. In front of her was a large, round door.

  “Open it,” she said.

  The door slid aside with a whisper.

  Taking a deep breath, she stepped inside. The tiny room was pure white and sterile smelling. Directly in front of her was another circular door. A small window showed blue and white.

  She put her face up to the window. Below it was her world. Between the world and the ship, she saw something gold. It was spinning, pulsing softly. One of the satellites?

  She had to get down there. Here again, father’s instructions were woefully skimpy. He simply said she had to get the sword to the gather point. The pulsing gold object?

  “How do I get to the gather point?” she asked the ship.

  “There is a 99.9% chance of life termination for any human present at the gather point when discharge occurs,” the ship said.

  She swallowed, her heart hammering. “How do I get down there?” she said.

  Something whirred next to her. She jumped. A panel slid open, revealing a suit of black armor.

  “I would recommend using an excursion suit,” the ship said, “Or you could jump naked. The end result will likely be the same.”

  The Red Witch shucked off the sword and then her robe. The dry air chilled her bare skin. She touched the black armor.

  “How do I put this on?”

  The suit moved forward, then opened. It blossomed like some kind of terrible black flower.

  “Turn around and step back into the suit,” the ship said.

  She did as the ship told her. The padded armor touched her back, sending a thrill over her skin. It started closing up around her. Pieces snapped shut over her arms and legs. It slid over her torso, enveloping her like a second skin. Metal clicked down over her hands and feet. Finally, a helmet rose up from the neck and covered her head.

  “Suiting complete,” a voice said in her ear.

  The Red Witch lifted her arms. The suit moved smoothly. She raised her hands to her face, flexed the armored fingers.

  “This was Amaya’s armor,” she said.

  “This was one of her suits,” the ship said, “Inversion discharge in 30 seconds.”

  Sonomorte, leaned against the wall. She took hold of it. She held it to her armored chest in both hands.

  “Send me to the gather point,” she said.

  The door to the sky slid open without sound. She felt something pushing her back.

  Then she was outside the ship, falling toward the pulsing gold sphere and the blue-green world below.

  She could see other pulsing gold orbs now. They were farther along the horizon. There looked to be dozens of them.

  Her own calm surprised her. Any fear or doubt she had felt was gone. It was too late for that. Her entire life had been driving toward this moment. She lifted the sword, holding it out in front of her.

  Now that the moment was here, for a few seconds, she knew absolute peace.

  The shining silver sword touched the pulsing orb. Everything exploded into red light.

  Eighty-Seven

  Joshua

  Joshua snatched up the plasma rifle from the snow. He and Kojanza ran as arrows rained around them. They stumbled in the dark, through the snow covered brush. The only direction they could go was back toward the batt
le.

  The air reeked of blood and sweat. Clash of metal and shouts of rage and pain rang in their ears. Sporadic fires lit the hellish scene here and there.

  “Forest people,” Kojanza said.

  Joshua nodded. Were they trying to help them? Or just kill Hurdroth?

  He had a feeling they’d be dead if the forest people were actually aiming at them.

  He glanced back. Hemsdell and his soldiers were fleeing, too. The same direction as he and Kojanza.

  They were all being driven toward the battle, then.

  A knot of men pulled away from the general melee and came at them. Joshua yanked the plasma rifle up and fired off two rounds.

  One man went down and the others scattered.

  Maybe I’m finally getting the hang of this.

  “Joshua!” Kojanza shouted.

  He stopped. Swung the plasma rifle toward where her she was looking. Something whistled through the air. A flash of metal.

  A huge, double-bladed ax hit the barrel of the plasma rifle, slicing it off. The rifle sparked and instantly got hot.

  Joshua tossed it at the warrior with the ax. Rangor. The huge, bearded warrior caught it in one hand, grinning.

  “Got you. Again,” Rangor said.

  He noticed the heat of the weapon. It was smoking, too. His eyes went wide.

  “Whups.”

  Joshua tackled Kojanza, taking her to the trampled snow. He saw Rangor toss the weapon.

  A second later an explosion thumped the ground. A wave of heat washed over him.

  Men were screaming in agony now. Joshua looked up. Rangor stood nearby, scratching his beard.

  “I think that may have been my side,” he said, “I should probably take a little breather.”

  Rangor hefted his ax over his shoulder and ran.

  Joshua got up, pulling Kojanza up with him. He turned, coming face to face with King Hurdroth.

  “YOU!” the King shouted.

  The King’s face was streaked with blood and sweat. The wet dog stench of him washed over Joshua. The man’s eyes were crazed.

  Joshua and Kojanza stepped back. He bumped into someone else. Whirling around, he came face to face with Hemsdell.

  Hemsdell, perfectly composed, smiled. “You were never going to escape,” he said.

  “He’s mine!” Hurdroth said. He raised his bloody sword.

  Hemsdell had his own sword drawn. “Nothing is yours,” he said, “All of this world is mine.”

  Hudroth’s eyes narrowed. “You will never rule this land.”

  Hemsdell laughed. “I already do. You’re just a little exercise for my men.”

  Hudroth opened his mouth.

  Something boomed overheard. Red light flooded the battleground for a moment.

  Everyone raised their eyes.

  In the clear night sky, the stars shone bright. A web of red lines slowly faded between them.

  The stars brightened.

  They started to move.

  Eighty-Eight

  Vazsa

  The ship bucked under them as red light filled the screen. Vazsa tumbled to the metal floor. Her head smacked against the side of a console. White spots danced before her eyes

  A blaring sound filled the room. Red lights flashed.

  “Captain! Something just blew up under us!” Tony shouted.

  The ship jerked around. Vazsa slid toward one of the consoles. She grabbed it.

  “No shit!” the Captain shouted back, “Does anyone have helm control yet!”

  Vazsa raised her head. Lou was in the chair beside her. She noticed the chair was attached to the floor. She wished she’d been sitting in one.

  She saw Lou’s fingers dancing over the console. “Got it Cap!” he shouted.

  “I’ve got Nav!” Tony shouted.

  “Pete! What about you!” the Captain said.

  “Just a–Environmental and Engineering!” Pete said.

  “Okay, Nav, give me status!”

  “Rotating off axis,” Tony said, “We’re going to hit atmosphere in 18 seconds.”

  “Engineering!”

  “Checking to see what’s offline!” Pete said, “AI is offline, engines are offline. Inertial Dampeners offline. Heat shield offline. Impact shield offline. Hull integrity ok. Environmental systems ok.”

  “What kind of engines do we have!”

  “Damned if I know Cap,” Pete said, “Wait, something’s coming online. We have thruster control. Grav engine, whatever that is, it at 23%. There’s some other kind of engine. Transfer Engine, it’s offline.”

  “Helm! Can you stabilize!”

  “Working on it, Cap!” Lou said.

  Vazsa's head whirled with the unfamiliar terms. She looked up at the screen. The blue-green curve of the world was spinning past every couple seconds.

  The ship jerked again. It started to vibrate.

  “We’re in atmosphere!” Tony shouted.

  The Captain left his chair and jumped to the seat beside Lou.

  “I’ll take axial thrusters, you take the grav engine,” the Captain said.

  Their fingers flew across the console. She felt the ship move like something was pushing against it. Suddenly it bucked again.

  Metal creaked. Crack! She turned to see a shower of sparks.

  A screen came loose behind Lou and the Captain. It tumbled through the air.

  “Look out!” she cried.

  Too late. The screen hit Lou on the back of the head. He slumped forward. Tumbled off the chair.

  Dr. Fran rushed over, trying to keep to her feet as the ship pitched and rolled.

  “You, girl! Get up here!,” the Captain shouted.

  Vazsa blinked at him. His face was bathed in red from the emergency lights. Angry, worried, frantic. He beckoned her with one hand.

  She scrambled off the floor, slipping into the chair. It was warm from Lou’s body. She glanced at him. Dr. Fran hovered over him, taking things from her bag.

  “Pay attention!” the Captain shouted.

  Vazsa turned to him. He pointed at the console. There was an array of colored lights in different shapes. Some of the words she recognized.

  “There,” the Captain said. He put his finger on an array of shapes. “Those are the Grav engine controls. These are the feeders for the thrusters. When I tell you, give me full power on the thrusters and kick in the Grav engine. Got it?”

  She nodded.

  The ship bucked and pitched. The vibrations were getting intense. The console in front of her was getting blurry, it was shuddering so hard.

  She glanced at the screen. The ship had stopped spinning. The curve of the planet was filling almost the entire screen. Red flared around the edges of it.

  “Hull temperature getting into red zone, Cap!” Pete said.

  “Can you get any of those shields online!” the Captain shouted.

  “Negative. Power levels just won’t come up. I think it’s the because the main engine is offline,” Pete said.

  “Well, see if there’s a fucking restart on the thing!” the Captain said, “Where are we at, Nav?”

  "Falling near vertical, 21 kilometers...20 kilometers...19 kilometers," Tony said.

  “Shit,” the Captain said.

  He pounded at the console. Vazsa felt the ship shift. Like it had slipped sideways.

  “I’m going to do a countdown from three, girl,” he said, “When I reach zero, you give me full power, hear?”

  “Yes,” she said.

  “On my mark. Three...two...one...Zero!”

  Her fingers danced on the console. She felt the ship thrusting, moving. A shuddering groan ran through the deck. Something cracked and sparked overhead.

  “Come on baby,” the Captain said, “Go. Go. GO!”

  “Main engine coming online Captain!” Pete said.

  “Oh crap,” Tony said.

  Vazsa looked up. Ahead of them, a red whirlpool swirled.

  Eighty-Nine

  Joshua

  Joshua stood, trans
fixed by the stars gleaming on the black velvet of night. The sounds of battle had stopped. There was no sound, no whisper of movement. It was as if the world held its breath. The stink of blood and ozone tinged the air

  The web of red lines in the sky faded and the bright stars began to move.

  They fell from the sky in formation. Constellations and galaxies compressing, getting smaller.

  The stars became contained by twin ovals.

  The ovals drew back, set into a pale face.

  Full, red lips. Thin nose.

  A cascade of blood red hair flowed over armored shoulders.

  The tall woman hovered over the battlefield, her body clothed in black armor.

  Her form shimmered as she slowly descended. Waves of heat radiated from her. Snow steamed away below her feet, revealing bare rock.

  Her eyes were the coldest reaches of deep space, burning with all the stars of the universe.

  In one armored hand was a sword. It shone with a cold, white light.

  Her other hand held an ornate silver teapot.

  The soldiers and warriors drew back from her. Some ducked their heads. Others covered their eyes as if her beauty was too terrible to bear.

  The woman descended to the bare ground. He feet touched the rock and a vibration went through the earth. The point of her sword made contact with the stone. The ground trembled like the earth had been rung like a bell.

  Some of the men fell to their knees, bowing their heads to the snow before her. Other dropped their weapons and ran away into the night.

  Joshua didn’t bow or run. His stomach twisted, but he held his ground.

  A hand slipped into his. Kojanza. With a small shock, he realized she was trembling. His fearless barbarian maiden. He put his arm around her.

  The armored woman took a step forward. The ground vibrated and the stone beneath her crackled.

  “All right, what the fuck is going on around here?” Queen Amaya said, “Which one of you numbnuts is calling himself King now?”

  General Hemsdell stepped forward. He bowed deeply to her. When he rose a broad smile was on his face.