The tension that gripped the crew reduced when the Kepler’s entry ramp lowered, giving the crew access to the Radiance base and the city beyond. The first thing Foster did when she left the ship was snap a few pictures of the skies. The gas giant the moon orbited dominated half the view of the blue and clear skies.
Up above was the blue and white sunlight of the Devaguai star. It looked smaller than the sun back on Earth, from her point of view on the moon’s surface at least. In reality, it was five times bigger than Sol. Nevertheless, its light was bright enough that all humans, and Hashmedai, needed to wear protective shades or risk going blind. It went to show how bright and powerful the star was, as the moon of Riylor was eight AU away.
After that, Foster staggered when she marched away from the Kepler. The surface gravity for a moon was stronger than she thought it would be. She began to understand why Vorcambreum evolved to be so short, even the mountains in the distance looked pretty sad compared to mountains you’d see on Earth.
The crew spread out from the entry ramp with their assigned roles. Some were tasked to help with repairs, and others went to the base and city beyond searching for supplies. Chef Bailey had the fun job, grocery shopping. Vorcambreum ate insects, and with Eicelea aboard there wasn’t much on the mess hall’s menu for her to eat. Thankfully, despite this being the Vorcambreum homeworld, lots of people from Radiance made it their home. It gave Foster hope Chef would come back with more than crawling bugs in a container.
Foster got a notification that resupplying and fueling the Kepler was almost complete by the time the evening rolled around. The dimming bright star allowed the dry summer-like heat to dissipate. Her body liked it. She came to stand on a patio deck used by Radiance rangers during their off hours. The railing was small as were the tables and chairs, all designed with Vorcambreum height in mind. Foster felt like a giant walking through the base and city at times, a giant with sore bones thanks to the heavy gravitational pull the moon had. She watched the shine of the crystal plains beyond the base and city’s walls and mused about their situation.
She and the crew, like it or not, were in a race. A race to the center of the nebula, the location of Kur, they were losing and had to make a long pit stop to continue. They had to get there before the Draconians did and carried out their plans and before the SOM did with the assistance of the Terrans. And what a mess that was. If what Alisha said was true, then she and Jainuzei and Alisha weren’t even on board with the cult’s plans and were just using the Terrans’ power.
The SOM wanted to resurrect Marduk and were convinced that Alisha and Jainuzei wanted that too after removing their leadership and probably spun a bunch of lies. That’s the thing about cults, they’ll blindly follow anyone that preaches what they want to hear. But in reality, the husband and wife duo wanted something else. But what was it? Not the resurrection of Tiamat, that’s what the Draconians wanted from Kur, and evidently were following the path Alisha and Jainuzei were making.
It was somewhat of a comforting thought, as it meant the Draconians themselves didn’t know the way to Kur, which would explain why they didn’t beat everyone to the race already. They were following the psionic signals the tentacle creature inside the vortex key Jainuzei stole from the Kepler, sent. The SOM were the ones that had the knowledge of Kur, most likely obtained from the Marduk Poniga. Who knows, maybe that’s why the Draconians arrived in Sirius at first, back in 2050 when the Carl Sagan and Abyssal Sword were there. They must have thought both ships had obtained that knowledge from the Poniga.
The artifacts played a role too, the more Foster thought about it. In what way, she didn’t know, just that the Eyes of Tiamat were taken from Baghdad while a monolith was found. And Alisha found one as well on New Babylon that probably gave her the tattoos Foster had. The Dragon Maiden also had the tattoos and had most likely interacted with the monolith under Baghdad. Things were starting to make sense, monoliths gave people the tattoos needed to use Draconian tech, and it was a onetime deal. That’s why the Dragon Maiden called her a thief; Foster accidentally stole the tattoos and an engram from the first monolith.
Therefore, Foster, Alisha, and the Dragon Maiden all had the same abilities.
“Enjoy the visuals while you can, human.” Foster’s musing ended when she turned and saw Eicelea stand next to her. Her yellow Vorcambreum eyes joining her in the view of the crystal-covered plains. “Not many humans have been this deep into the Union, let alone seen the beauty of the XE crystal fields.”
“Really?” Foster said, looking down at Eicelea.
“Too long a trip, though with that vortex ability of yours, I fear that may no longer be the case.”
“Unless someone can figure out how my tattoos work and to transfer them, then we’s the only ship that can get here faster than FTL.”
“And the Gerard Kuiper.”
“And the Gerard Kuiper . . . but I’m hoping they ain’t gonna be a thing once we’s done.”
“What was going through your mind when you were looking at the crystals?”
“Just thinking about the situation we all found ourselves in,” Foster said. “The SOM, Taxah Hashmedai, and the Terran Legion working together.”
“The worst of our three factions have teamed up,” Eicelea said drily. “Yet Earth, Hashmedai, and Radiance keep butting heads. Squabbling over things that aren’t important.”
Foster snapped her fingers. A surge of inspiration hit her mind. “Yes . . .” she said. “That’s it, Eicelea. You’re a genius.”
“Of course I am! You believe I inspired you?”
“The Terrans are supporting the SOM; only because they think they’ll topple Radiance, take control to be used as a puppet government.”
“I thought we covered this?”
“We did but . . .” Foster pushed away from the tiny railing of the patio. “Alisha, she told me they were misleading the Marduk cult, trying to steer it in the direction she and Jainuzei originally wanted it to be. She said the SOM and their alliance was just a tool to get what they wanted.”
“And that is?”
“Not Marduk, which is what the cult members think Jainuzei and Alisha are going to deliver them,” Foster said, and looked up at the gas giant in the horizon. “They’s united because they think Marduk is gonna come back when they get to Kur. The Terrans’ funding makes them strong, and in turn, they were going to hand Radiance over to them.”
“But Jainuzei and Alisha seem to have taken control,” Eicelea said.
“And have no plans on delivering what the Terran alliance or SOM want,” Foster said. “This is why you’re a genius Eicelea, you gave me an idea. Let’s put that alliance in the same position as our failed one between the Union, Empire, and UNE. We’s gotta get the word out that Alisha and Jainuzei got secrets.”
The Vorcambreum woman nodded her tiny head. “I see . . .”
“Once support for the SOM fails, the Terrans will pull out; the Taxah Hashmedai will be forced to do the same. And if we can get proof of the Hashmedai’s loyalty to the Terrans back to the Empire—”
“The Emperor and Empress will make their heads roll.” Eicelea chuckled softly. “Don’t give me credit for that,” she said, looking up at Foster. “That was the will of the Gods, they were speaking to you.”
Foster beamed. “What makes you say that?”
A tiny Vorcambreum index finger pointed to the plains and the crystals growing out from it like they were plants. “When I was younger,” Eicelea said. “I gazed into this field, from this very same spot. I wondered what plains looked like before these crystals came? How did they get there? What was ancient Vorcambreum life like? There was proof we never had the crystals at the time. That’s when I realized I needed to become an archeologist and uncover all the ancient secrets of the galaxy. The Gods spoke to me because I looked out here, lost. They did the same for you just now.”
“That was . . .”
“The nicest thing you’ve heard me say to a human?”
“Yeah.”
“And it shall be the only time I do so! So, treasure this moment, human, it won’t happen again.”
It took Foster awhile, but by the time nightfall came, she was able to make out a faint glimpse of the nebula in the night skies. Somewhere in there was Kur. Somewhere in there were the Draconians getting closer to it. Somewhere in there was the Terran Alliance helping the SOM, who think they’re about to resurrect Marduk, but in reality, are going to bring something else back.
Foster had to get back into the race. The pit stop needed to end yesterday.
64 Saressea
TLS Prometheus
Terran Alliance Fleet, Hallowed Nebula Center
July 30, 2119, 04:20 SST (Sol Standard Time)
Saressea had a dream about her past. She was young, probably nineteen or so, magnetizing the glares of men she greeted at the front entrance to a restaurant serving Rabuabin cuisine.
The food was great, you could smell it outside the establishment, its aroma was powerful enough to lure in people who weren’t Rabuabin unless you were Aryile or Javnis. Even then, there were plant-based items on the menu, like humans and Linl, Rabuabin were omnivores, though they did lean more to the carnivore side compared to the other two.
The young Saressea wore a striking glittering dress and chatted with her friend until the dream turned into a nightmare. Byikanea showed up in the dream and started melting people with her psionic powers. SOM fighters ran in with rifles turning people’s heads into bits of red and pink chunks. It wasn’t pleasant.
She tried to run but couldn’t and was forced to watch the Linl psionic float in the air with her powers raining down hellfire, as her red hair fluttered like she was submerged in water. Saressea’s father ran and pushed her to safety. He was the chef of the restaurant, and that wasn’t right at all. Her father was a mechanic.
By the time she got to her feet, she noticed her hair had become a mess, and some of it covered the side of her face. It was strawberry-blonde hair, with highlights. A very human look, that wasn’t right either. Saressea’s hair was a dark caramel-like color. That’s when Byikanea appeared ahead of her, used her telekinetic powers to paralyze the young Saressea. From there, Byikanea tore off her dress, held her down and raped her, over and over while the bodies of the dead burned with psionic fires around them.
Byikanea moaned Jainuzei’s name in an ecstasy-laced voice.
Saressea leaped up from her bed screaming from the dream turned nightmare. Her body, feline ears, and tail drenched with terror sweat, even the edges of her horns close to her head had been dampened by it. Annoying sounds blared. She couldn’t figure it out. Her disorientated mind tried and failed three times to keep her head straight. Her fast beating heart wouldn’t stop. At one point, she thought she’d die of a heart attack. When her heart finally relaxed, she tried to make sense of the noise. It was an alarm.
Something was happening to the ship. But what? They had returned to the command ship after the Kepler and Rezeki’s Rage escaped, before the Gerard Kuiper did the same, opening its own vortex. Perhaps they stayed in the maelstrom too long, she thought. With Nereid back with the Kepler, meant no protective goo for anyone, just a short trek through the maelstrom.
She went to get dressed, and then screamed when she saw Byikanea. A second later, Byikanea was gone. Saressea’s mind was playing tricks on her. Byikanea must have done more than violate her body, she did it to her mind as well. She was raped physically and mentally at the same time with psionic powers. Why else would she have a dream like that?
On the bridge, the Linl Whisper crew chatted and manned their stations. The alerts continued to make their racket. It made her miss the ones on the Kepler, she designed them to be less intrusive.
“There a reason I need to be here? Or can I go back to sleep?” Saressea asked, hoping the answer was yes. She had a lingering thought that the imaginary Byikanea was going to be waiting for her in bed.
“Terrans are getting ready to exit the maelstrom,” Michei said, stroking his Rabuabin horns. “We’ve been told to go into high alert since the Draconian fleet isn’t far off.”
“Took them long enough.”
“Their ships are organic, they needed to stop to sleep and regenerate the battle damage they took.”
“I meant the Terrans,” she said. “We can’t stay in the maelstrom long without the goo.”
“There was enough residual goo to keep us in longer.”
“Great, anyone got any dragon bedtime stories we can tell? Maybe they’ll nod off again when they awake.”
Saressea went to attend a vacant station, hoping that the act of keeping busy would calm her head. The data that outputted reported that the command ship’s doors had opened to the view of the nebula. They were no longer in the maelstrom. They were approaching the center of the nebula. Kur was hours away.
With the Gerard Kuiper in the lead, the remaining ships of the alliance flew out in single file and entered a formation, embarking on an ethereal voyage of the nebula’s center. Young stars twinkled in the pale glow of the clouds when the alliance of ships pushed in. In a few million years planets will develop around them. She wondered what the Gods planned to do with them.
The wreckage of old Hashmedai ships were seen scattered about in the distance. It was a mysterious sight. Saressea had to double check that the view screen was working right, and then double check her computer that it was as well.
She scratched her head, stopping when her fingers hit her left horn. “I thought nobody could get past the barrier?” she asked.
“The Empire probably got these ships in via a space bridge jump,” Michei said.
She looked closely at the old Imperial ships. They all met a violent end. “Doesn’t look like they lasted long.”
“Nope, guess that would explain why they focused most of their attacks trying to enter the nebula, in hopes of seeing whatever it was that destroyed their fleets upon arrival.”
She counted at least four junked command ships adrift as they flew past, and one of them managed to release the ships that were inside, though those ships had all been turned to piles of floating slag, lost forever to the nebula’s grand luster.
“I’ve always thought it was the Gods that made the Imperials lose contact with these fleets,” Michei said as he glanced at the ship graveyard.
“Thought?” Saressea said, “It’s pretty clear they did.”
“Look at the sensor data,” he said, pushing the holo screen to her. “The Gods didn’t do this.”
Saressea pulled the holo screen closer to her face, reading its data, and viewing its diagrams of the old and dead Imperial ships.
“You know how I know now?” he asked.
“Yep,” Saressea said. “Two reasons, one the Gods didn’t give us tachyon weapons, or any weapon remotely close to its firepower. Two, we’re still alive . . .” The ancient sleeping ship Kur appeared on the view screen when the fleet passed through a wave of gaseous nebula clouds. The ancient ship was like a sun emerging in the aftermath of a rainstorm. “Three, they aren’t doing much to stop us from approaching Kur.”
With the lingering fear that the Draconians would emerge from a vortex, the Gerard Kuiper ordered the fleet to spread out and take up a defensive position, circling Kur with a mixture of Imperial and Terran ships, while the Gerard Kuiper moved closer. The Prometheus had complied, of course, still pretending it was a ship run by a human crew that pledged their allegiance to the Legion.
The Prometheus made its closest approach to Kur when it entered its assigned defense position around it, an hour later. The scans that came back were mind-numbing. Imperial command ships were big enough to fit an entire fleet inside. Kur was big enough to fit a city or three inside stacked up on top of each other.
The Gerard Kuiper and other ships that were ahead of the Prometheus were nothing more than tiny specks on the view screen. Kur was a colossal beast that floated dead center of everything. And the nebula around? It was just beauti
ful now they were in the center. The work of the Gods was something else.
“Incoming transmission,” an officer reported from their station.
“All right, everyone get into character,” Michei said, it generated a dozen laughs from the crew.
Michei moved to a corner of the bridge that wouldn’t be viewed when the video communication link was made. He grabbed Saressea as well. This was supposed to be a Terran ship after all with a human crew.
The Linl Whisper members began to speak English and dropped their Radiance accents. A Linl man stepped forward with his hands behind his back. He wore a captain’s uniform and gave a nod to Michei, he gave one back.
The view screen changed and Byikanea appeared, sitting cross-legged on one of the chairs in the prison ferry’s bridge. A wave of terror paralyzed Saressea when she heard her voice speak.
“Captain,” Byikanea said, her English wasn’t bad. “Do you still have Saressea in your brig?”
“Yes, yes we do,” said the Linl man acting as a Terran captain.
“May I request her presence when we board the Kur?”
“We’d still like to beat some sense into her for her actions at Taxah.”
“I’d rather you didn’t do that,” Byikanea said, her voice turning sour. “Saressea is the reason we made it this far. Her HNI, her actions at Taxah, none of this would have happened without her. This was the lingering will of Marduk, his will wants us to bring him back into the universe. I want her at our side; it’s her destiny to be here when he comes back from the dead.”
“I’ll see what I can do,” the pretend captain said. “Let me get back to you.”
“Thank you.”
The view screen returned to its previous image, Kur adrift in the nebula with a number of dots around it, being the fleet spreading out to defend it.
Hallowed Nebula Page 46
