RETURN TO SOL:

STAR RISE

THE ORION WAR – BOOK 13

BY M. D. COOPER

Just in Time (JIT) & Beta Readers

Scott Reid

Gareth Banks

Chad Burroughs

Timothy Van Oosterwyk Bruyn

Copyright © 2020 M. D. Cooper

Aeon 14 is Copyright © 2019 M. D. Cooper

Version 1.0.0

Cover Art by Andrew Dobell

Editing by Jen McDonnell, Bird’s Eye Books

Aeon 14 & M. D. Cooper are registered trademarks of Malorie Cooper

All rights reserved

TABLE OF CONTENTS

FOREWORD

PREVIOUSLY…

KEY CHARACTERS

MAPS

PART 1 – NEW CANAAN

A DIVE TO REMEMBER

GOODBYE, VIRGO

BACK INTO THE FRAY

SNEAK ATTACK

HOMECOMING

MOPPING UP

THE PRESIDENT’S MOTHER

MARSHAL

GTFO

THE JUMP

SEARCHERS IN THE DARK

DEFENDING CARTHAGE

UPDATE

A VIEW FROM THE DARK

PICK YOUR TARGETS

BREACH

SHROUD THE LIGHTBRINGER

A FRIENDLY SURPRISE

CARTHAGE

I AM BOB

A MEMORY

CONVENE

PART 2 – SOL

FAMILY MATTERS

SOLBOUND

HOME

REGROUP

SEDNA BOUND

ARRANGEMENT

IN PURSUIT

JOVE

CHIKORA’S CONCLAVE

CHO DIVING

IN PURSUIT OF FINA

CALISTO

HIGH TERRA

URIEL

A DECISION

REACTOR REFACTOR

WELCOME TO THE ALLIANCE

THE TOWER

CONVINCING ARGUMENT

ON RAILS

THE ARCHIVES

SAVING GRACE

OVERWHELM

AN UNENDING

THE GATES OF HEAVEN

PART THREE – HOME

JOE AND TANIS TO MARS

AFTERWORD

THE BOOKS OF AEON 14

OTHER BOOKS BY M. D. COOPER

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

FOREWORD

To say that the thought of writing this book terrified me would be an understatement…such an understatement.

When I decided to write a galactic war that would have accurate scope, I gave a lot of thought about how I would open new threads and spread the war. However, what I didn’t truly understand was how much work would be involved in closing off those threads satisfactorily.

Just like a real war, when the last enemy surrenders, the conflict doesn’t end. Germany and Japan’s surrender only saw the war move to new fronts. The alliance fractured, and the USSR and China became adversaries.

The story never really ends.

What this means for a story like the Orion War is that things aren’t going to get wrapped up in a neat little bow. Granted, I think anyone who has come this far down the rabbit hole wouldn’t expect that.

Despite the fact that threads will inevitably be left open—and some never closed, since that’s just how things work in life—I do have to provide a satisfactory resolution. That’s what all good stories have to have, after all: a beginning, middle, and end.

A satisfactory end.

Attempting to achieve that means that, as a writer, I have to consider expectations. And after twelve books, three novellas, and a dozen spin-offs, there are a lot of disparate expectations out there.

Those expectations are where the worry comes in. As a writer who makes a living from their craft, every story contains risk for one’s career. A story that ends a flagship series even more so. I know too many authors who tanked the ending of a major series and never managed to recover. Usually, they have to create a pen name and try to start over.

One thing’s for sure, that’ll never happen with Aeon 14. I’ve already put a lifetime’s blood, sweat, and tears into this universe, and I’ll see it through no matter what.

At the end of all that worry over what I can and cannot control, what I have to do is take all those other voices telling me what they think I should do, and push them out. All that matters is the story and telling it the way I know it needs to be told.

The stage is set, the characters wait in the wings. They know themselves, they’re fleshed out, and all I have to do is drop them in the setting and say ‘What will you do?’. They’ll take it from there.

So here we go. Once more into the breach.

Malorie Cooper

Danvers 2020

mdcooper@thewoodenpenpress.com

PREVIOUSLY…

To say that a few things are coming to a head would be an understatement.

Although Race Across Spacetime was book 11 and Attack at Dawn was book 12, segments of both books took place during the same timespan.

At the end of Race Across Spacetime, a gate jump next to Sagittarius A* sends the Grace O’ Malley (with Sera, Tanis/Angela, Chief West, and Darla aboard) and the Starkiller (with Tangel, Earnest, and Finaeus aboard) nearly a month into the future.

Attack at Dawn covers the events of those three weeks where Tanis and Angela are known to be captured by core AIs and the last anyone knows, Sera took the Grace O’ Malley after them. No one knows that Tangel is alive, and likewise—by everyone else’s reckoning—Earnest and Finaeus have disappeared without a trace.

During those three weeks, Joe and Jessica re-secured Kapteyn’s Star and, having learned that Sirius now possessed stasis shields, launched an assault on that star system.

There, they encountered a new threat. Enemy drone swarms large enough to tax even the power generation capabilities of CriEns. This meant that enough concentrated close-range fire could damage and destroy ISF ships.

Katrina was sent to infiltrate Brilliance Station, the capital of Sirius, and there found that core AIs had lent the enemy aid, providing them with both stasis shield technology as well as mass drone control capability.

Injured in that conflict, Katrina was taken to Bob on the I2 for aid while Jessica and Joe completed their victory over Sirius.

However, in grief over Tangel’s death, and the dream of Tanis and Angela being alive seemingly a fool’s hope, Joe stepped down from active command of the ISF. In a meeting aboard the Carthage, the Alliance agreed to Jessica’s placement as field marshal pro-tem.

That decision had only just been made when news came of an assault on New Canaan.

That brought about the end of Attack at Dawn, and though it is book 12, it ends a day before Race Against Spacetime, book 11, where we saw the story conclude with the Starkiller and the Grace O’ Malley arriving at the edge of New Canaan to find the system under heavy assault.

And so, we begin this story in New Canaan with the ISF scrambling to protect themselves against a host of the Alliance’s enemies.

KEY CHARACTERS

Because there are many people operating in disparate groups across the galaxy, I’m going to organize them by nation/faction and ship to keep things simple. Some folks might move to new places throughout the story, so this list will organize them by where they are at the beginning of the book, or at least where we last knew them to be.

Aboard the Carthage

Jessica – With a resume as long as this book, Jessica’s recent roles have included being captain of Sabrina as well as the ISS Lantzer, and admiral of an ISF fleet.

Iris – Originally paired with Jessica, Iris took her own body after Sabrina’s return from the Perseus Arm. Much to Jessica’s chagrin, it is a silver replica of her. Iris can usually be found not far from Jessica and Trevor, and is a skilled breacher and operative.

Kerr – A multinodal AI (a child of Bob’s) who is the Carthage’s ship’s AI.

Trevor – Trevor joined Sabrina in Virginis, not long after the Battle of Bollam’s World and has been with Jessica for roughly twenty years. He is now an officer in the ISF.

Ophelia – Captain of the Carthage, Ophelia’s first major command was as captain of the Dresden, where she served with distinction in the Battle for Victoria.

Symatra – First seeing major combat experience in the Battle for New Canaan when she commanded Carthage’s defense fleet, Symatra has a special talent for managing mass fleet maneuvers.

Aboard Carson’s Fleet

Carson – We first met Carson as an ARC-5 wing leader at Kapteyn’s Star, but over the years, he progressed to admiral. He has spent the last year managing a fleet that protected Thebes and also functioned as a reserve force, bolstering local militaries in a variety of conflicts.

Most recently, he aided Rika and her Marauders in taking Genevia back from the Nietzscheans. It is from that battle that he has been recalled to New Canaan.

Aboard Caldwell’s Fleet

Caldwell – Recently commanding a small group of ISF ships attached to Admiral Svetlana’s Hoplite force in the Perseus Arm, Caldwell returned to the Inner Stars at the end of the conflict with Sirius. He is now the admiral of a newly formed ISF Fleet.

Usef – Now a general, we first met Usef on Victoria when the ISF Marines retook Landfall and rescued Tanis and other members of the colony mission’s leadership team. Over the years, he has fulfilled a host of roles, and after the conflict at Sirius, has now been promoted to general and attached to Admiral Caldwell’s fleet.

At the Core

Epsilon – Leader of the Matri∞me Faction, Epsilon controls the most voluminous group of core AIs and has turned the Caretaker faction fully to his side.

Hades – While Hades leads a smaller number of core AIs, he is regarded as the oldest and most powerful. In a recent conflict in the core, he and his faction were driven out by an AI named Chikora, one of Epsilon’s lieutenants.

Aboard the Hegemony Fleet

Lorana – Admiral commanding one of the Hegemony’s fleet divisions that attacks New Canaan.

At High Carthage

Sanderson – Admiral Sanderson has been with the Intrepid colony mission from close to the beginning. His experience lies not in command, but in fleet management and supply organization. He had retired upon reaching New Canaan, but came back to active service, and now commands the ISF’s Home Fleet.

Jason Andrews – Jason was the original captain of the Intrepid. Though he was slated to be the governor of the New Eden colony, the mission was largely to be one last trip for him before retiring. He finally managed to achieve that at New Canaan until Tanis pulled him back to be governor when she left to lead the allied forces.

Joseph Evans – Colony leader and husband of Tanis Richards, Joe has returned to New Canaan after the victory at Sirius. The constant worry over his wives and children has taken a toll on his mental health, and he is doing his best to recover without the stress of battle in the mix.

Aboard the I2

Bob – Bob needs no introduction. He is Bob.

Rachel – Admiral of the First Fleet, Rachel is also captain of the I2, a title that is held in such high regard that she is addressed as ‘Captain’ and not ‘Admiral’.

Terrance Enfield – The original backer for the Intrepid, Terrance took the opportunity to retire once the ship jumped forward in time and reached its colony world. Like Jason, he was pulled into active service by Tanis when New Canaan became embroiled in the Orion War.

Aboard the Grace O’ Malley

Sera – Formerly the president of the Transcend, Sera has a new ship named the Grace O’ Malley, which she took to New Sol in pursuit of Tanis and Angela. She followed Tanis to the core, rescuing her before returning to New Canaan.

Jen – Jen is a New Canaan SAI who paired with Sera when she was president of the Transcend in order to give her an aide who could be trusted. After Sera abdicated the role to her father, Jen chose to stay paired.

West – Formerly serving on the ISS Lantzer, Chief West joined with Sera on the mission to rescue Tanis and Angela.

Darla – An ancient AI, who was also the first Tanis ever paired with, Darla joined Sera on her mission to rescue Tanis and Angela.

Tanis – After ascending to Tangel over a year ago at Pyra, Tanis’s mind was dormant within the merged being. When Tangel separated from her physical body, Tanis regained her own autonomy and control of her body, though she doesn’t remember anything from that period.

Angela – Ditto, except without a body.

Aboard the Regent Mary

Krissy Wrentham – The daughter of Finaeus and Lisa Wrentham, Krissy has long served as an admiral in the Transcend’s military. After Jeffrey Tomlinson found that he was too disconnected to function as president, she took the role and is now the Transcend’s leader.

Shortly after she returned to Airtha from New Sol, her mother, Lisa Wrentham, took control of her mind.

Greer – Admiral Greer was in command of the Transcend force that first met with the Intrepid at the Ascella System watchpoint, and has been in command of the Inner Stars’ war efforts over the past two years.

Seraphina – A clone of Sera, Seraphina has taken over as the director of the Hand and is currently aboard the Regent Mary joining in the defense of New Canaan.

Roxy – Once a captive of her brother, Justin, who she was forced to love and obey, Roxy has rejoined the Hand of her own volition, and is now Seraphina’s right-hand woman.

At Roma/Normandy

Cary – Organic daughter of Tanis and Joe, Cary has begun to ascend and has used those abilities to greatly aid the Alliance. Most recently, she masqueraded—a little too well—as the Widow A1 and was instrumental in the downfall of the Orion Freedom Alliance.

Faleena – Daughter of Joe, Tanis, and Angela, Faleena is a young AI who was first paired with Cary, but now has her own body and is largely inseparable from Cary and Saanvi.

Saanvi – An orphan from a shipwreck in the Transcend, Saanvi was adopted by Joe, Tanis, and Angela. She grew up with Cary, and has often functioned as the voice of reason between the two.

Aboard Sabrina

Cheeky – Recently having become captain of Sabrina, Cheeky has led her team on a recon mission to Sol. There, they encountered a strange nanophage on Sedna.

Misha – As Sabrina’s cook, Misha spends most of his time on the ship, but does go on missions when needed. Misha was originally an Orion citizen from the far end of the Perseus Arm.

Nance – Ship’s engineer and one of the original crew aboard Sabrina, Nance has—aside from a brief stint in the ISF’s military academy—served aboard the ship for nearly thirty years.

Sabrina – The ship’s AI has been with her ship for centuries, and has never left it or been paired with anyone else. Unlike many AIs, she fully identifies herself as the ship she controls. Sabrina also owns the vessel she is named for.

Sabs – A shard of Sabrina originally made for the Airtha mission, Sabs has diverged into a unique entity, and operates with a mobile frame.

At Sol

Uriel – Hegemon of the Hegemony of Humanity, Uriel has long coveted New Canaan’s technology, and is responsible in part for both attacks on the colony system. Recently, after she was approached by core AIs, she made a deal with them, ultimately being subsumed by one.

Virgo – A group of Caretakers with a goal of ensuring ongoing unrest within humanity sent Virgo to the Intrepid with a mission to aid Myrrdan in taking the ship. Unbeknownst to both Virgo and Myrrdan, the main goal was to see the ship arrive at Kapteyn’s Star.

Prime – The result of a cognitive experiment gone wrong, Prime was originally created in the Alpha Centauri System. He was defeated at Proxima Centauri by Jason Andrews, but not before a clone of his mind was lost, only to be eventually found by Virgo.

Fina – One of Sera’s clones, Fina was aboard Sabrina when it landed on Sedna, and she was captured by Virgo’s forces. Her location is assumed to be somewhere on Sedna.

Aboard the Starblade

Peabody – Captain Peabody’s first major command was as captain of the Antares, where he served with distinction in the Battle for Victoria. He has been captain of the Starblade since its maiden flight.

Aboard the Starkiller

Tangel – The merge of Tanis and Angela, Tangel died, but was saved after Finaeus and Earnest went back in time to provide her with a CriEn that enabled her to weather the destruction of New Earth’s moon.

Finaeus – A truly ancient man, Finaeus was part of the engineering team that built High Terra and conceived of the FGT. He left the Sol System in the mid third millennia, eventually helping to found the Transcend. He is responsible for building some of the most impressive structures in the galaxy.

Earnest – The mind behind picotech, the Intrepid, Bob, and stasis shields, Earnest is arguably one of the most accomplished engineers and creative geniuses in the galaxy.

At the Trisilieds

Corsia – Admiral of the Twelfth Fleet, Corsia has been waging a war in the Pleiades Cluster against the Trisilieds Kingdom. She has recently signed a peace accord with their new king after deposing his father.

Aboard the Voyager

Katrina – Originally born in Sirius as a member of Luminescent Society in the fifth millennia, Katrina rebelled against her people and aided a group of Noctus in their escape to Kapteyn’s Star. After the Intrepid left, she attempted to follow, only to find herself caught in Kapteyn’s Streamer which thrust her into the future, but not so far as the Intrepid. She has spent the last 500 years operating as a mercenary and warlord.

Carl – Katrina’s first mate and one of the ship’s original crew. He led the engineering team that retrofitted the Voyager for FTL, and joined the crew shortly afterward.

Kirb – Kirb was an engineer who helped with the Voyager’s retrofit, and has served aboard ever since.

Camille – Like Carl and Kirb, Camille came aboard the ship to aid in the retrofit. She has since taken the role of chief engineer aboard the Voyager.

Malorie – Wife of a warlord in the Midditerra System, Malorie was responsible for breaking Katrina and learning her secrets. In the end, the tables were turned, and she formed an uneasy alliance with Katrina. Over the following centuries, they have become close friends.

Troy – One of the original AIs aboard the Intrepid, Troy was thought dead after he saved the colony ship from a Sirian attack. Katrina later found him on Victoria’s moon, and he aided her in finding the Voyager and leaving the Kapteyn’s Star System.

Location Unknown/Traveling

Lisa Wrentham (also known as Widow A1) – Finaeus’s ex-wife and long-time ally of General Garza and Praetor Kirkland in Orion space, Lisa was thought dead in the battle that took place in New Earth. However, during the effort to save Tangel, she was given an opportunity to escape, and took it.

MAPS

For more maps, visit www.aeon14.com/maps.

PART 1 – NEW CANAAN

A DIVE TO REMEMBER

STELLAR DATE: 05.27.8950 (Adjusted Years)

LOCATION: Dive Tower, Normandy

REGION: Roma, New Canaan System

Cary drew a slow breath as they stepped off the shuttle onto one of Normandy Tower’s high docking platforms. The moon’s surface was fifty kilometers below, and the tower’s disk spread out another dozen above.

She’d only been there once before, present for that fateful meeting with Sera’s father, Jeffrey Tomlinson—or his clone, as it had turned out. For her, that was when her idyllic childhood had ended, only to be replaced with a galaxy-spanning war.

And ascension.

That thought brought on the exact reason she’d come out here with her sisters. They were hoping to not think of their missing mother and their father’s anguish for at least a few days. It was hard when your mom was kind of in charge of everything. Every single face they looked at was looking back with an expression of pity or sympathy.

It was crushing.

“You with us?” Saanvi asked from her side. “I know you could probably just levitate up to the dive platform, but the rest of us have to take the lift.”

Faleena snorted. “Speak for yourself. I could totally fly up there if I had to.”

Cary smiled at her two sisters. “No, I’ll go the easy way. Spending time with you two…just being normal…that’s the point.”

Saanvi gestured at the door leading into the tower. “Well, let’s get that underway, then. Normal starts with walking over there.”

“On it,” Cary said with a laugh, leading the way.

The laugh was forced, and she hoped the other two couldn’t tell. She was still wracked with guilt over what she’d done to her sisters aboard A1’s ship. That feeling was compounded by the knowledge that her mother was likely imprisoned—or worse—at the galactic core.

So many of the people she’d grown up with were gone. Her mother, Earnest, dozens of others serving across the galaxy, many of whom would never return to New Canaan.

A memory of Priscilla sprang forward in her mind, and with it, the knowledge that Cary’s own brash behavior had killed the woman, denying her the final merger with Bob’s mind that she’d craved so much.

That pain was sharpened by the fact that her actions aboard A1’s ship and the final confrontation at New Sol had led to her and her sisters being welcomed back to New Canaan as heroes.

Which was what hurt the most.

I should be punished for what I did. I killed my mother. I’m a monster.

She knew that wasn’t exactly true—or at least, that’s what everyone had tried to convince her of. ISF psychologists, her father…even Bob.

But she saw the haunted look in Joe’s eyes when he thought she didn’t know he was looking at her. She didn’t need to reach into his mind to know what was going on in there.

My daughter killed my wife.

Sure, they all believed that Tanis and Angela were alive. Bob was certain of it, and Joe clung to that, but that didn’t change the fact that Tangel had died.

No one else seemed to feel that loss in the same way as Cary.

Then again, none of them were ascended. Tangel was Cary’s mother in a different fashion than she was to Saanvi and Faleena.

“Hellooooo.” Faleena clasped a hand on Cary’s shoulder. “Let’s go already.”

“Right,” Cary nodded, realizing that her forward momentum had slowed to a crawl. “It’s just…should we really be doing this? Mom’s out there somewhere, Sera is searching for her in the core, and we’re back here, picking up extreme sports.”

“Then think of it as training,” Saanvi replied as they reached the door, stepping into the tower’s warmly colored interior and well-lit passage. “There’s every chance that someday, we’ll need to dive into a gas giant and hit a platform below the cloudtops.”

“Honestly, it’s a little surprising we haven’t already,” Faleena added.

“Another notch in our belts.” Cary did her best to add a carefree laugh before pressing the call button on the lift and waiting for the car to arrive.

It only took a moment, and the three women filed on and stood in silence as it rose.

“Crazy that you weren’t born yet the last time we were here,” Saanvi said to Faleena. “It feels like we’ve lived a lifetime since then.”

The AI laughed. “Well, that’s literally true for me.”

Cary couldn’t help but chuckle. “Well played.”

“Thank you.” Faleena gave a mock bow as the doors opened, welcoming them onto the platform’s main deck.

The tower had taken some damage in the battle following that fateful meeting with the Transcend some years prior. A repair crew had come through and cleaned up, but the facility had seen little use since, what with the war drawing most of New Canaan’s residents away.

An automaton approached, striding across the foyer, giving them a cheery wave before offering a greeting. “Welcome to the Normandy Recreational Tower!”

“Thank you,” Faleena said, giving the NSAI a polite nod. “We’re here to do a dive down to Roma’s surface.”

“Of course!” the automaton replied. “That is exactly what we’re here for. Only, we can’t today.”

“Umm…why?” Cary asked. “We have clearance to be here.”

“Oh yes,” the robot nodded enthusiastically. “You would not have been granted docking clearance otherwise. However, a cyclone has dipped into Roma’s central zone, and the dive platform shifted south to avoid it.”

Faleena frowned. “Why can’t we just shift to the south in our dive trajectory?”

“Oh no!” Though the automaton spoke in denial of the suggestion, its tone remained bright and cheerful. “That would break protocol.”

“What sort of protocol?” Cary asked.

“Well, your angle of approach toward the landing platform would increase your chances of missing it.”

Saanvi laughed. “OK…that does seem compelling. I’m not super-keen on falling into Roma till it crushes us.”

“How long till the platform is back in position?” Faleena asked.

“Tomorrow morning! The exact time is uncertain. You know how the weather is—especially on Roma.”

“I’ve heard talk,” Cary replied. “Well, in that case, are the restaurants open?”

They were met with another gleeful nod from the NSAI. “Oh, of course! We have a great many delicacies waiting for you. It’s been so long since we’ve had the opportunity to serve anyone. Follow me!” The automaton tottered off toward one of the sweeping staircases that led up to the top deck.

This was largely as Cary remembered it: a wide, open area filled with foliage and a smattering of large, intimate dining areas spread throughout.

The robot led them to a small grotto surrounded by a variety of tall, flowering plants, and bid them to make themselves comfortable before it disappeared into the greenery.

Cary looked up and took in Roma’s red and blue clouds, perfectly visible through the clear dome that stretched over the top deck. It was a beautiful sight, and from the vantage, no ships or stations were visible. It felt almost as though—

“I can’t help but feel like we’re the only people alive anywhere,” Saanvi said, all but speaking Cary’s mind. “It’s rather…”

“Serene,” Faleena suggested.

“I was going to say unnerving. I’ve never liked the idea of being alone on a ship with nothing around.”

Cary knew why that was. Saanvi had been found after her father’s ship had been adrift for centuries, the sole survivor of an encounter with Exaldi that had killed everyone else aboard. The nightmares she’d suffered afterward had kept her—and Cary—up many nights until she reached her later teens.

That thought reminded Cary of how often it had been Angela who had comforted the two girls when that occurred. The idea that maybe, just maybe, her mothers would both return was one that both gave her hope and a steadily growing knot of anxiety as the days since Sera had jumped to the core passed.

“You’re thinking of them again,” Saanvi said, speaking into the silence that Cary’s drifting thoughts had created.

“Sorry,” she shrugged. “This is getting nuts, though. How long are we supposed to wait?”

Faleena shrugged. “Bob said—”

“Bob has all the time in the world!” Cary spat out the words, surprising even herself with the vehemence they bore. She clenched her jaw, forcing herself to calm down. “I can’t wait forever.”

“None of us can,” Saanvi said. “We all played a part in what happened at New Earth. You don’t carry the blame alone…no pun intended.”

“I made you go along with me,” Cary whispered. “You were basically my…my slaves.”

Faleena placed a hand on Cary’s arm. “That wasn’t you. Not exactly.”

“It wasn’t, no, but it is.”

Saanvi cocked her head. “What do you mean?”

Cary tapped her temple. “She’s still in here. A1. I still have her memories, I understand her motivations, her desires. A part of me is her now.”

“Having her memories doesn’t shape you,” Faleena said. “I possess many memories and knowledge from our parents, but I am not them. I am me. I make my own way in the world.”

Cary winced. “I don’t know if that makes it better.”

Saanvi reached out and placed a hand on Cary’s other arm. “It means you can redeem yourself in your own eyes.”

“Because we have already forgiven you,” Faleena added.

Tears threatened to spill down Cary’s cheeks, and she ducked her head, knowing if she made eye contact, the waterworks would start, and there would be no stopping them.

After a few shuddering breaths, she dared to glance up at her sisters. “Shit…this was supposed to be a way to take our minds off things. Sorry I’m ruining it.”

Saanvi snorted. “That’s just what we told you. Really, it was a way for us to have you to ourselves and hash out some of this stuff.”

“I’ve been ambushed,” she grumbled.

There was a temptation to be upset at her sisters, but Cary quashed that. The fact that they were going out of their way to help her when she was the one who had wronged them was something she couldn’t ignore. If anything, the urge to blurt out something about not deserving their compassion was nearly impossible to suppress.

“May I prepare you a drink?”

The automaton had returned, saving them from coming up with a way to continue the conversation.

After they’d each made a selection, Cary reached out for her sisters’ hands. “OK, I promise not to mope anymore. Let’s talk about happier times, like when Faleena first got a body and couldn’t figure out how to walk and talk at the same time.”

“What are you talking about?” The AI placed a hand on her chest, an expression of mock indignance on her diminutive features. “I have no memory of that.”

Saanvi snorted. “Riiiiight. Just like how you never got in a tussle with the octopuses on Troy that one time.”

“They were being cheeky snots!”

Cary laughed. “They excel at that. I’m starting to think that they figured out humor years ago, and just revel in being little shits now.”

Saanvi nodded. “Did I tell you about the time they raided the capitol building and deeded the underwater park to themselves?”

Faleena rolled her eyes, a smile on her lips. “No, but I’m not surprised. Now tell me all about it.”

* * * * *

Cary ran through an automated systems check on her dive suit while giving Faleena’s a visual once-over. Meanwhile, Faleena was checking Saanvi over, who was inspecting Cary.

The armor was virtually indistinguishable from vacuum-capable powered armor, which wasn’t surprising, as the threats Roma’s atmosphere presented were not so different from those of armed combat.

Faleena’s gear checked out, and Cary’s own diagnostics pronounced her good to go at the same time that Saanvi gave her the thumbs-up.

<Looks like we’re ready for the black,> Faleena said, a smile visible through her helmet’s clear faceshield. <Anyone else questioning their sanity?>

<Daily,> Cary gave a self-mocking laugh. <But what does that have to do with this?>

Saanvi rolled her eyes. <What a comedian.>

She turned toward the airlock, and the others followed, passing through a brief cycle and out onto the Jump Deck. The trio obeyed the indicators on their HUDs leading them to one of the several pads that encircled the tower’s upper platform.

Cary eyed the ten-meter-wide ring skeptically. They were over half a million kilometers from Roma, and that ring was what they were relying on to send them from the tower to a kilometer-wide platform drifting in Roma’s clouds.

Granted, their dive suits had thrusters to keep them on course, but it was still a long way to fall through the black.

<What is wrong with us?> she asked as they stepped onto the pad.

<What, because we’re doing this?> Saanvi asked.

<I was thinking of our people. Why did we build this? Whose idea was it to turn planet-diving into a sport?>

Faleena snorted. <Pretty sure it was Mom’s. I mean, not originally, but she was the one who had this place built.>

<Sure,> Cary nodded, still staring up at Roma’s bulk hanging above them. <But it’s really just to cover up the secret shipyard inside the moon. Back in Sol, though…someone decided this was fun.>

<You having second thoughts?> Saanvi asked. <Also, it was clearly Marines.>

<No.> Cary shook her head. <To second thoughts, that is. Yes to it being Marines. I could see Usef doing this.>

<In the tiniest swim shorts ever,> Saanvi added, then made a slurping sound. <Sorry, what were we talking about?>

Cary gave her sister a measuring look. <Isn’t Usef in Erin’s polycule?>

Saanvi shrugged. <So it’s a good ‘cule. I’d sign up for their group any day.>

Faleena whistled. <But like…they’re all so oooooold.>

The other two groaned in unison.

<What?> the AI asked.

<Everyone’s old to you, Faleena.> Cary laughed. <You’re just a baby.>

<I resemble that remark.>

Saanvi pointed upward. <So, we gonna do this?>

Cary nodded. <Yeah. I’ve set the countdown. It’ll be on your HUDs now.>

The first number to appear was 30, and from there, it ticked down, one per second, until at 10, the trio rose off the pad and reoriented to face up. The a-grav system held them aloft until 3, when they began to rise at a sedate pace. At 0, the acceleration reached ten gs and held for half a minute until they were out of the a-grav field’s control, free-falling toward Roma.

<Oh yeah!> Cary shouted to the others, who were now a few dozen meters away, the trio forming a slightly lopsided triangle.

<That was a rush!> Saanvi added, breath fogging her faceshield for a moment before the excess moisture cleared out.

A marker appeared on the gas giant. It lay just south of the equator in the light blue zone that encircled the world’s widest point.

<That’s our platform,> Cary said. <Just a needle in a haystack.>

<Needle in an ocean,> Saanvi clarified.

Faleena sent an audible groan across the comms. <We’ve done stuff way more difficult than this. Heck, your first battle above Carthage, you had to pull a dozen tighter vectors.>

<Sure,> Saanvi replied. <From inside a starship.>

<Wasn’t much of a starship,> Cary said with a soft laugh.

<Not when we were done with it, at least,> her sister replied.

The laughter felt good, and Cary basked in the feeling, remembering how pissed everyone had been, and how their punishment had been going to school for things they’d long surpassed.

Of course, that had led to saving Nance and uncovering the threat that ascended AIs posed. Without that, they would never have found and killed Myrrdan, or managed a host of other victories.

Or ended up taking on A1 and…winning?

She drew in a shuddering breath, then blew it out, briefly obscuring Roma.

No. I’m not going there. I need to move on. Moms are alive, and Sera is going to save them. We’re all going to be together again.

<Five minutes till we hit clouds,> Faleena said after a few minutes, bringing Cary back to the present. <Look sharp, girls.>

Roma now filled over ninety degrees of the view before them, its red and blue colored clouds drifting across the world’s surface, their movement deceptively slow.

<Shit…It’s just everywhere now,> Cary said.

<The planet?> Saanvi asked. <Or did you have an accident in your suit? I know you hate to hook up the plumbing.>

Cary muttered something aloud, letting the comms pick up and transmit the sound.

<You two…> Faleena said, laughing as they continued to accelerate toward the massive planet. <Sometimes I wonder.>

<Wonder what?> Saanvi asked. <How we’re so awesome?>

<Uh…yeah, that.>

<Look at that thunderhead!> Cary exclaimed, pointing to the middle of the equatorial zone where the cyclone that had delayed their jump had shifted.

A plume of gas rose so high above the rest of the cloudtops that it cast a shadow for hundreds of kilometers across the world’s surface.

<Is that even the right word?> Saanvi asked. <Isn’t it more like a cloud jet?>

<Whatever, it looks amazing. And I’m also glad that it’s over a thousand klicks from the platform.>

<You can say that again,> Faleena said. <We’re well within the stratosphere now.>

Cary nodded as thin tendrils of cloud began to whip past them, the trio now moving at hundreds of meters per second relative to Roma. It wouldn’t be long before their retro boosters fired and their chutes deployed.

They only had to slow down to under a thousand kilometers per hour for the platform’s a-grav systems to grab them and draw them to safety, where a shuttle ride back to Normandy would await them.

But maybe not right away.

The clouds grew thicker around them, the atmospheric density almost at the level where the chute would be most effective. Large cumulous formations loomed to the north, lightning flickering between them, beams of energy shooting out into space as unimaginably powerful discharges surged through the diffuse gases.

From five AU distant, Canaan Prime’s light on Roma was like a cloudy day back on Carthage, and as they sank deeper into the gas giant, that light grew dimmer and dimmer.

<Shit…how far down is this thing?> Saanvi asked, voicing what Cary was thinking.

<Just another hundred klicks,> Faleena replied. <The view down here is half the reason to make the jump. It’s amazing.>

A bolt of lightning streaked through the clouds directly below the trio, and Cary let out a small shriek.

<Really, sis?> Saanvi laughed. <You can shoot lightning from your hands. How did that scare you?>

<It was really loud!>

<I’ll grant you that,> Faleena said. <Sound travels really well—>

Her words were interrupted by a system-wide alert coming in over the emergency channels.

<This is an NCSD. Alert! Alert! Alert! The System Defense network has detected multiple incoming fleets at the edge of our interdiction grid. The system is under attack. All military personnel report to duty stations. All civilians, report to your group commanders for directives. This is not a drill. This is not a drill.>

Cary turned to look at her sisters only to realize that they were no longer visible in the planet’s deepening gloom.

<Saanvi, Faleena? You two still there?>

<Physically, yes,> Saanvi replied. <Mentally, no.>

Faleena’s initial response was more of a grunt, followed by, <I wish they’d broadcast more information. We’ve lost signal now.>

Cary felt a tug, and the clouds began to form a funnel around her. <Grav field has us, we’ll be down on the platform in no time. We should be able to hit the uplink from there.>

Her sisters sent acknowledgment, and the trio fell silent. Cary was speculating what could be happening above Roma’s clouds, but didn’t want to voice her fears lest they amplify the others’.

Her HUD gave a countdown to chute deployment, and when it reached time, the jerk was almost comforting, pulling her out of her reverie and demanding she focus on the dark clouds within Roma’s atmosphere.

Cary forced herself to enjoy the last few minutes of falling through Roma’s deepening dusk, using her extra-dimensional vision to peer into the planet’s depths, where she could make out flickers of light.

At first she thought it was lightning, but the more she focused on what was directly below her, the more she suspected it was Roma’s core, the liquid metallic hydrogen ball at the center of the gas giant, a state of matter not found anywhere else in the universe.

Probably.

It would be incredibly hot, but that was not the energy Cary could see. It was something else, and she found herself wondering if she could travel that deep to find out—were she not still encapsulated in a corporeal form.

Then something moved across her view, blotting out the light below. For a moment, she feared that there was something alive in the depths, but then a signal hit her Link, and she realized it was the platform.

You’ve been watching too many space monster vids, girl.

The grav field intensified, slowing her down at a rather unpleasant six gs, until her relative velocity was only a hundred kilometers per hour. From there, the final segment of the descent made her feel like she was a petal drifting to the ground. The platform’s lights shone up through the center of the vortex the a-grav field created, lighting up the three sisters.

<You know,> Saanvi said as they closed the final hundred meters, another wave of negative gravitons slowing them further. <I’d like to do this again…sometime when the galaxy isn’t burning down.>

<I don’t think that time exists,> Faleena said as their feet touched the platform’s landing pad. <We have to take our joy when we can, and not feel guilt over it.>

<Oof,> Cary said as she looked around for the nearest airlock.

A walkway lit up, and the three women strode across the pad toward it, the air almost eerily still around them as Roma’s endless storms raged just a hundred meters away.

<Don’t ‘oof’ me,> Saanvi said as she reached the airlock first and palmed it open. <You know that’s how life is. Heck, our entire childhood being raised by Moms and Dad was them taking their joy when they could and not feeling guilty. They both knew what was coming, but were determined not to let it rob them of happiness when it was in front of them.>

The outer door closed behind the trio, and Roma’s toxic gases were vented and replaced with breathable air. Once the green light lit above the inner door, Cary pulled off her helmet and unpinned her hair, letting it shake free.

“Someone needs to get a better anti-fog system in these things,” she said.

Faleena winked as she pulled hers off. “You could just not breathe.”

“Easy for you to say,” Saanvi replied. “A bit harder for us.”

The AI shrugged. “It’s a solvable problem, even for you two. Either way, I imagine that the nanocoating normally used on these things was diverted to helmets for the ISF, not planet-diving.”

Cary nodded absently.

Now that they were within the facility, she tapped into the comm systems and attempted to reach out to Normandy for an update on the situation above.

“Well, that’s not good.” She turned to her sisters to see distraught expressions on their faces.

“I take it you just tried to reach Normandy, too?” Saanvi asked.

They all nodded, and Faleena said, “Looks like that storm spawned a few followers, and they’re shooting too much lightning around. Let’s get to the shuttle and head back up.”

A small gasp came from Saanvi. “That looks to be our second problem.”

She passed the other two a platform status update, which showed no return shuttle docked at the facility. A feed of the bay confirmed that no craft was present.

“That sucks…” Cary muttered. “The thing departed shortly after we did, I wonder what happened.”

“Not sure,” Faleena replied. “But if we don’t get back soon, Normandy will send out an update listing our location as ‘unknown’. Someone will come.”

Cary pursed her lips, trying not to let an impotent rage take her over. “OK…well…I guess we should see what food stores this place has. Diving is hungry work.”

“Lately, everything is hungry work for you,” Saanvi said. “You’re like the carb queen.”

“Huh…I guess I kinda am.”

Faleena winked. “Probably due to your ascension to goddesshood.”

Cary’s stomach rumbled loudly, and she gave a sheepish grin. “Well, your goddess must be mollified. Let’s find the galley.”

Twenty minutes and a few air-fried BLTs later, Cary was feeling sated and ready to tackle the problem of how to get off the dive platform. While waiting for rescue may not take that long, with the system under attack, she wanted to be an asset not a burden.

She was still reviewing options when Faleena thrust a fist in the air. “I think I have an idea!”

“Is it using the a-grav systems to lift us out of the clouds? Because with the way this thing floats on vac chambers, I’m not sure that’s possible,” Saanvi considered around a mouthful of BLT.

Faleena deflated a modicum. “Well, yeah, I mean that’s obvious. But the question is how. It’s one thing to keep the platform in place—which is buoyant at this depth—but quite another to even reach low orbit. The a-grav system doesn’t have enough thrust for that.”

“Now you’re just getting all fancy,” Cary said as she rose and walked to the chiller, selecting a fruit drink. “Talking about buoyancy and thrust.”

The AI cocked her head and gave her sister a puzzled look. “Uhhh…OK?”

“It was funnier—and less lascivious—in my head.”

“Do you need a nap?” Saanvi asked with mock concern before turning to Faleena. “I have an idea too, but what’s yours?”

Faleena gave Cary a final, measuring look before continuing. “Well, there are four pads like the ones we landed on. They have high-projection, low-energy a-grav emitters. However, I think we could swap those to release some serious waves of negative gravitons.”

“That’s not really going to do much,” Saanvi said. “It’ll just pull clouds down toward us. Sure, it’ll make the platform a little more buoyant, but it’ll probably just pull us up a few dozen kilometers.”

“I think we could get fifty,” Faleena replied. “And that might be enough to get above the interference and send out a signal.”

“I’d rather get out of here ourselves,” Cary said. “A signal just takes someone from more important work.”

Faleena cocked an eyebrow. “Or it lets us call down another shuttle from Normandy.”

Saanvi shrugged. “I guess there’s that. Worth giving it a shot.”

“Wait,” Cary asked. “What was your plan, Sahn?”

“Uhh…it was a bit more radical.”

“How so?” Faleena leant forward, chin resting on her hands. “Were you thinking of flipping the platform?”

“How’d you guess?!”

The AI shrugged. “Because it’s my backup plan.”

“So…” Cary took a long draw from her fruit drink’s pouch before picking up her helmet. “I assume we have to get out there to reconfigure the emitters?”

“Yeah,” Saanvi replied, nodding as she stood. “And there’s another storm coming, so we’d better do it fast, or the platform is going to have to cross from the equatorial zone to the next band down to pull this off.”

Cary drew a deep breath.

Like with most hydrogen gas giants, the lighter zones and darker bands traveled in opposite directions around the planet. The wind shear they’d experience transitioning between the two was not something she would look forward to riding out in a ship, let alone a floating platform.

“Well, then, girls, let’s get to it.”

* * * * *

Cary double-checked the emitter’s configuration before re-inserting it into the platform’s perimeter ring. Behind her, one of the repair bots was resealing the casings and running stress tests on the housings to make sure that the pads—which normally caught a few humans’ worth of mass—would handle the strain of pulling up a sixty-thousand-ton platform.

The clouds had changed in color, shifting from their customary light blue hue to a deeper, almost purple color. That meant there was gas from the southern band being drawn into the equatorial zone, a sign that the storm approaching was changing course along with them.

With the emitter back in place, Cary clipped her secondary tether to the pad’s outer railing and then moved her primary tether to it. Her suit’s maglock boots were likely enough to hold her in place, but with the winds now gusting at over three hundred kilometers per hour relative to the platform, she wasn’t interested in taking any chances.

Back at the outer railing, she worked her way around to the final emitter, taking a moment to glance over the edge at the depths lurking below. The strange glow was still visible, dancing like sunlight reflecting in water, the shifting patterns both enticing and somehow a warning.

An urge to jump over the edge came over her, a sensation that the solution to all her problems lay in Roma’s core, though she knew not what that could be. Even if she were to shed her mortal coil, there was no guarantee that it would be possible to claw her way back up from the depths.

I’d ask Tangel, but…well…

It occurred to her that Bob would likely know what lay in Roma’s heart. She wondered if he would be honest with her if she asked. The multinodal AI had a history of only sharing what he thought was pertinent when asked a question.

<You almost done?> Saanvi’s voice came over the Link, startling Cary and causing her to nearly trip on a conduit that ran across the catwalk.

<Shit, yeah, just one more. How’re you looking?>

<Just helping Faleena with the fourth pad. We’re almost finished here.>

Cary gave a derisive laugh. <Wow, putting me to shame.>

<Well, if it makes you feel any better, she was nearly done when I got here.>

<Fair enough. I’ll be wrapped in ten. Meet you back at the airlock?>

<You got it.>

Cary slipped her timeline a bit, taking a few extra minutes due to the repair bot finding microfractures in a housing. The replacement didn’t take long to install, but with the storm closing in, the minutes felt far longer than they had any right to.

Her sisters were waiting for her at the airlock, and they gave her welcoming nods before closing the outer door and cycling it.

<Storm is twenty minutes away,> Faleena said as Roma’s atmosphere was vented.

<Really?> Saanvi said with a laugh. <Felt more like it was already here.>

<Just the outer bands,> the AI replied. <Winds’ll be up to five hundred klicks before long. We need to get above this thing fast.>

<Keep your helmets on,> Cary advised. <Better safe than sorry.>

<Wasn’t even thinking of removing mine,> Saanvi replied.

The platform had a small control center, rarely used since the structure had been under automated control for most of the time it had been in service. Inside, there was a single console with two seats, and a holodisplay on the wall they faced.

<You take the chairs,> Faleena said. <I’ll stand.>

<Who wants to take the helm?> Cary asked. <Is ‘helm’ right when we’re talking about flying a frisbee through a gas giant?>

Saanvi laughed as she fastened her seat’s harness. <Call it whatever you want. I think you’re best suited to the task. You can see through the walls.>

<Fair enough,> Cary replied. <I suppose that does give me a bit of an advantage.>

<All the advantage.> Faleena placed a hand on her shoulder. <Whenever you’re ready. Just…you know…don’t dump us into the southern subduction zone. That’ll end this trip real fast.>

Cary nodded soberly and brought up the readings from the platform’s a-grav emitters, both the ones that held it aloft, as well as the units set into the landing pads.

First, she increased output for the main a-grav emitters beneath the platform, pushing it higher into the atmosphere, and giving it a slight angle to increase velocity. If they could travel with the clouds rather than against them, it would consume less energy and help them rise further aloft.

<Here we go,> she said, activating the emitters on the pads, praying that they’d function properly and not just tear themselves out of the housings.

The deck lurched up beneath the three women as the first wave of negative gravitons surged out of the upper pads. Cary scanned the readings and breathed a sigh of relief to see that the emitters were all still in place and functional.

<Damn,> Saanvi muttered as the deck surged upward once more. <When you said waves of neg-gravs, Faleena, you weren’t kidding.>

<Sorry,> the AI replied. <Not a lot of options with that model—not in the time we have, at least. If we made them pump out a steady stream at the intensity we need, they’d burn out.>

<We’re up twenty-two klicks,> Cary replied. <Still climbing between bursts, as well.>

<Storm is only fifty away,> Faleena added. <We need another dozen to get over the worst of it.>

Cary nodded as another wave fired, jerking the platform upward again. A low groan sounded around them, but all the structural integrity readings remained steady.

<It’ll hold,> Saanvi said. <This thing was made to last centuries.>

<Sure, yeah.> Faleena’s voice held more uncertainty than Cary would have liked. <Granted, it’s also supposed to avoid storms, not sail over them.>

<If we can get that high,> she replied. <I think a jet is forming. That thing is coming up along with us. I don’t know if I can get high enough before it pulls us into the subduction band.>

<Then ride it,> Faleena suggested. <Bring this thing around and go into the wind. That’ll kick us up overtop.>

<Overtop isn’t an adverb,> Saanvi said absently as she ran through a review of the platform’s power systems. <You know that.>

<You say that, but Jessica would disagree.>

<She’s Canadian,> her sister replied as though that explained everything.

The response elicited a laugh from Faleena. <Neither of you even know where Canada is.>

Cary nodded as she triggered another surge, using it to shift the platform and slow their movement to let the storm’s updraft throw them higher. <Sure, but that’s what makes it such a great rebuttal. Saanvi can’t argue against it.>

<I could look it up.>

<And ruin our fun?>

The platform was now over a hundred and fifty kilometers higher than its original position, reaching the point where the buoyancy created by its vacuum chambers began to lose effectiveness.

<Remind me to tell someone to upgrade this thing to have proper boosters,> Saanvi said as they surged again, gaining another few kilometers of altitude. <Who puts a platform down here with no way to get off if there’s no shuttle?>

Cary couldn’t help but laugh. <Well, I mean, this place wasn’t even finished before the war started. So far as the logs show, only a few of the shipyard workers in Normandy have used it.>

<Sure.> Saanvi nodded. <And they of all people should have known better and brought boosters down. I mean…they probably have thousands of them in the shipyard.>

Faleena gave a tired groan. <All of which are destined for ships. You know, the things we fly around in, fighting the enemy?>

<What are a few boosters?> Cary asked with a nervous laugh as they surged upward again.

She could see the cloud formations visibly thinning via her extradimensional vision…both a good sign and an indication that they were reaching the maximum altitude.

<Any signal yet?> she asked. <I can get us another ten klicks or so, then we’re maxed out.>

<No,> Saanvi shook her head. <Probably doesn’t help that we’re right overtop of an ionized jet. Maybe once we—>

<Oh shit!> Cary blurted as the pressure around the platform dropped precipitously. <We hit the band!>

<How?> Faleena asked. <We should be hundreds of kilometers away still.>

Cary didn’t bother answering; the fact that they had was all that mattered.

The downwelling of Roma’s atmosphere grabbed the platform and pulled them off the peak of the storm’s updraft, their altitude dropping a hundred meters in a second.

<Thank stars we belted in,> Saanvi muttered. <Can you get us back into the zone, Cary?>

<Trying! If I can find it…that storm pulled us a lot further south than I thought.>

Cary thought she’d been doing well navigating with limited instrumentation and no satellite data, but if they’d hit the band already, then she’d misjudged both the storm’s intensity and their position in it.

<I can’t see nitrogen clouds anywhere,> she said. <It’s like we’re already hundreds of klicks into the band.>

<Flip the platform,> Saanvi urged. <It’s our only chance now. That’ll get us high enough to re-orient and get back to the zone.>

Cary bit back a curse, pissed at herself for not only losing her way, but because they’d have no choice but to move back into the equatorial zone and await rescue.

Seems like waiting to be saved is all I do lately.

<OK, getting ready to invert. You locked down, Faleena?>

<You bet. Do it, sis.>

Cary nodded and decreased emission on the platform’s port a-grav emitters and boosted the starboard sets. The surge tilted the structure at sixty degrees, and she gave another pulse from the main units to push them further. Once the platform was at ninety degrees—and falling rapidly—she powered both sides in opposite directions, bringing them around with the landing pads facing down.

<Here goes.>

She cranked all four up to max output, driving a prolonged surge of negative gravitons toward the planet’s core, where the mysterious lights still flickered.

Focus, girl.

The platform surged upward, recovering the lost altitude in a minute, then rising further and further until the darkness faded, and Canaan Prime’s light peered through the cloudtops.

<I have a visual on Normandy!> Faleena called out. <But nothing from the tower, that’s odd.>

<More than a little odd,> Saanvi replied.

Cary didn’t comment. Balancing the platform upside down on the landing pad’s emitters was taking all her concentration.

<I’m shifting us north, maybe we’ll get more altitude and—>

The deck—or overhead, at this point—shifted to the side as the platform dipped to port, slewing through the clouds, losing altitude yet again.

<We blew a set of emitters,> Saanvi reported.

<I picked up on that,> Cary said, grinding her teeth. <I’m flipping us again, I can’t balance us on three. We’re going to have to come up with a plan B.>

She spun the structure to shift them back toward the north before beginning the maneuver to bring them right-side up again.

If it had been alarming the first time, it was a near disaster the second. Once the platform shifted past eighty degrees, it began slicing through the subduction band, shedding altitude like nobody’s business. All around them, the platform groaned and shook, a crack appearing in the forward bulkhead, decompression alarms sounding a moment later.

None of the women spoke as Cary frantically feathered the remaining a-grav emitters to finally get them to ninety degrees, whereupon the platform’s lower edge caught enough of the wind that they flipped the rest of the way around—none too gently.

<Can we never do that again?> Saanvi asked as the deck finally stopped shuddering as though it were in its final death throes.

Cary was only able to nod while gulping down breaths.

<Did either of you see Normandy?> Faleena asked as the platform shuddered one last time as it crossed the boundary into the equatorial zone, slowly rising to its typical altitude.

<I mean…I saw the moon, yeah,> Saanvi said. <I was too busy fighting with the comm array to keep it aligned to do any sight-seeing, though.>

Faleena gestured at the forward display, an image of the moon appearing. At first, it looked perfectly normal, but then she zoomed in on the dive tower.

For a moment, Cary couldn’t tell what she was looking at, but then her mouth fell open.

<The Jump Deck…shit…the whole tower top. It’s gone.>

GOODBYE, VIRGO

STELLAR DATE: 05.26.8950 (Adjusted Years)

LOCATION: Sabrina, Sedna

REGION: Sol System, Hegemony of Worlds

For a moment, the tableau laid out before the entrance to Nunataq Spaceport’s control tower remained perfectly still.

Cheeky and Fina stood a meter apart with dockmaster Arens standing before them, three meters of paved pathway between them. Behind and slightly to the left stood Virgo, an AI in a sleek warframe that had—if such a thing could be said about an AI—a rather crazed look in his eyes.

In the distance, the staccato sound of gunfire echoed through the ships around them, the sound of Sabrina and crew defending the ship.

<Now!> Fina shouted across the Link, and Cheeky dove behind a stack of crates, landing on her side and bouncing back into view thanks to Sedna’s lower gravity.

Deciding to make it look deliberate, she drew her pistol and fired a series of pulse blasts at Virgo before ducking back.

“That’s not going to do a lot against me,” Virgo shouted a second before the top of the crate was blown off by a high caliber round. “What else do you have?”

“This!” Fina shouted from somewhere to the left of Cheeky, who scrambled back to better cover—a hoverlift—and watched as Fina leapt off a planter, sailing through the air toward Virgo.

The move was predictable, so while Fina was in the air, the AI had all the time in the world to move into a position to catch her.

Cheeky wanted to cry out, tell her to look out, but then there was a hiss and a cry of rage, and Fina was on the ground a meter behind Virgo with his severed arm in her grasp.

Her other hand held a lightwand, and she barked a short laugh. “You know…underestimating your enemy isn’t a healthy trait, Virgo.”

The AI gave an inarticulate cry, and then two of the nearby ships opened fire with point defense beams.

Cheeky slammed a hand onto the hoverlift’s control panel, dumping nano into it and taking control of the machine while Fina sprinted toward the control tower’s entrance.

Dockmaster Arens made a move to chase after her, and got caught by a beam, the focused stream of electrons cutting him in half. Fina got tagged once before she made it to the entrance, but Cheeky couldn’t see how bad it was.

Virgo turned to face Fina, his armored legs having taken two strides before the hoverlift rammed into his back, one of the forks slicing through his frame’s side.

Cheeky drove it into the building’s wall, slamming him against the plascrete-sheathed structure.

“Nevermind,” the AI hissed. “I’ll get intel from the others. You’ll both die. Horribly.”

“C’mon!” Fina called out, beckoning Cheeky to get inside. “We don’t have the firepower to stop him.”

“Don’t have to tell me twice,” she shouted back while sprinting for the door.

Behind her, beams from one of the starships hit the hoverlift, blowing the back end off and allowing Virgo to push it back—or at least, that’s what she assumed, from the general cacophony.

A second later, they were inside, and Fina pressed her hand on the door’s control panel, activating their secure-lockdown mode. Solid CFT-reinforced steel slid down from the ceiling, blocking Virgo’s access and sealing them inside.

“I think we need to get out of here,” Fina said.

“Well, yeah, that makes sense.”

“I don’t mean this building, I mean Sedna…the Disk. Something shady is going on here.”

“You don’t say,” Cheeky shot back. “Now that you’ve closed us in here, what did you have in mind?”

“What about him?” Fina asked.

Cheeky turned to see an expressionless man behind a reception desk. He was regarding them with a blank stare, but she set aside that mystery while sweeping her gaze across the rest of the space.

The room occupied roughly a third of the tower’s base, a tall ceiling stretching up for sixty meters, thick plas windows letting in natural light. There was a lift bank behind the receptionist, and several halls leading deeper into the tower on either side.

Fina strode toward the man and planted a hand on his forehead. “Let’s see what’s going on in there.”

“What are you doing?” Cheeky asked as the receptionist fell unconscious.

“I want to see if he’s been shackled.”

“Sorry, what?”

Fina shot Cheeky a worried look. “It’s possible to shackle human minds just like AI ones. People’s inbuilt mods have protections against that, but there are weaknesses. In the past, they’ve been subverted to place entire organic populations under the control of AIs.”

“I mean, turnabout is fair play and all that, but yuck.”

“Virgo…if it’s the same Virgo I’m thinking of, would definitely have the knowhow to seed a nanophage that could pull this off.”

Cheeky glanced back at the large window that wrapped halfway around the upper reaches of the foyer. “We’re sitting ducks here. We need to move.”

“I need to find out what’s in this guy’s head.”

“Then bring him with us,” Cheeky said, gesturing toward the lift bank. “Plumb his depths on the fly.”

Fina nodded her agreement and leant over, picking the man up in a fireman’s carry. “Let’s go.”

Cheeky sprinted to the lift and hit the call button, watching the number indicators count down until the nearest lift came to #4. Then it stopped.

“Shit, he must be in the system,” Cheeky muttered while slapping a hackIt on the pad. “Let’s see how he does against one of the ISF specials.”

Behind them, something slammed into one of the windows high above the foyer, and Cheeky turned to see Virgo riding another hoverlift, backing it up to hit the plas again.

“Any day now,” Fina whispered.

The hackIt gained control of the lift system just as Virgo struck the plas a second time. The numbers counted down to #1, and as the doors opened, the AI struck the windows a third time.

A crack split across the plas, and then part of the window broke free and fell to the floor just as the lift doors opened. Virgo was only a second behind the plas, and hit the ground sprinting toward them.

Fina entered the lift first while Cheeky backed in, firing her pulse pistol at the AI in the hopes of slowing him down just enough.

Virgo put on an extra burst of speed and grabbed the doors just as they were closing, but Fina was there with her lightwand, slicing off the frame’s other hand. Cheeky fired a point-blank pulse blast into his face, and then the doors closed, and the lift began to rise.

“Shit…I’ve never seen an AI behave so…feral before,” Cheeky said as she sagged against the lift’s wall. “You said you think you know who he is?”

“Yeah.” Fina looked concerned as she set the receptionist down. “If he’s who I think, he’s an AI who took over the Intrepid not long after it left Sol.”

“Wait…what? That…thing…defeated Bob? I find this hard to believe.”

“From what I understand, he had a lot of help—namely due to faulty components being used in the Intrepid’s construction. Bob couldn’t counter what he couldn’t detect. I think Virgo was also given additional abilities by the Caretakers.”

“Them again…great.” Cheeky watched the lift continue to rise to what was listed as the ‘transit deck’, four hundred meters above the ground. “So how are we facing him now?”

“Well…they didn’t kill him. Bob and Earnest—for reasons I don’t quite fathom—just ejected him into space. I guess they figured time, or someone else, would deal with him.”

“Great, so now we get to be that someone else,” Cheeky muttered.

“I’d rather just get the hell out of here,” Fina replied as the doors opened. “This is definitely an engineered nanophage. It’s made specifically to shackle organics, and I think it’s likely to have spread through a lot of the population.”

“Shouldn’t we stay and take Virgo out, then?” Cheeky asked. “He’s just one AI in a frame.”

“He’s not in that frame,” Fina replied. “Or if he is, it’s a shard. Virgo was a full-size node, like, the size of Bob’s.”

“Shit.” Cheeky peered down the passage that ran straight ahead. “If this is a transit deck, they might have some a-grav skiffs.”

“Good, because we need to get to Sabrina and get gone.”

“Have you been able to raise them at all?” Cheeky asked. “As soon as Virgo showed, I lost connection.”

“Me too.” Fina pulled the unconscious man out of the lift car and set him on the floor before following after Cheeky. “I’m trying to hack the tower’s comm systems to see if I can bypass whatever suppression Virgo has going on.”

Cheeky wondered if she should help, but decided to leave the task to Fina. One of them needed to focus on their surroundings, and the other woman was a skilled infiltrator in her own right—even if she wasn’t an AI.

It took less than a minute to reach a door set into the tower’s outer wall, and when they opened it, Cheeky let out a whoop of joy to see a pair of hoverskiffs waiting for them.

“Our luck has turned!” she exclaimed, hopping on one and firing it up. “Not even locked down.”

Fina settled astride the other skiff and grabbed its handlebars. “These are kinda retro. I like them.”

They eased the skiffs to the edge of the platform and looked down at the ships spread out below. Sabrina’s blue-silver hull glistened roughly a kilometer away, flares of light surrounding it as the ship and its crew fought off Virgo’s people.

She felt sorry that they were likely killing mind-controlled people, but there was nothing for it. Allowing themselves to be killed or subjugated as well wasn’t going to help anyone.

“Why aren’t they taking off?” Fina muttered.

“Grav beam,” Cheeky replied. “I can see it from here. It’s holding Sabrina down.”

“Shit,” Fina glanced behind them. “The controls for that are probably in here. We should go ba—”

Her words cut off as the doors leading into the tower burst open and two AI frames appeared, pausing for only a split second before charging toward the two women.

“Go!” Fina shouted, and the pair of skiffs launched off the platform.

BACK INTO THE FRAY

STELLAR DATE: 05.28.8950 (Adjusted Years)

LOCATION: High Carthage

REGION: Carthage, New Canaan System

Joe paced across the deck in High Carthage’s CIC while news of the victory in Sirius and on the Scipian front flowed in across the QuanComm network.

All around him, the general staff did their best not to get in his way or say anything that might set him off.

He knew it wasn’t fair to them to have the old man looming over their shoulders while they worked—while they did good work.

I just don’t know where else to go.

“Joe,” Admiral Sanderson’s voice came from behind him. “You’re making a groove in my deck.”

Turning, Joe did his best to pull on at least a half-smile. “Sorry about that, Klause.”

The Home Fleet’s admiral grimaced. “I still don’t know how you learned that name.”

“And you never will.” The smile came a little easier now. “My sources swore me to secrecy.”

“Lucky for them. Still, that doesn’t change the fact that this isn’t a productive or healing use of your time.” Sanderson glanced at the holotank, which showed a view of the fleets in Carthage’s nearspace, the I2 centered on the display, gracefully decelerating toward the system’s capital world. “Maybe you should visit your lakehouse. Re-center yourself.”

“I think that would hurt more,” Joe replied. “I—I’m just getting really sick of my family being lost somewhere in the far-flung reaches of the galaxy.”

Sanderson nodded and placed a hand on the other admiral’s shoulder, guiding him to the far side of the holotank and away from the CIC personnel who were doing their best not to appear as though they were listening to the conversation.

“You never know. It might help.”

“No, there’s only one thing I can do that will help.” Joe could see the warning in Sanderson’s eyes, and shook his head to preempt the other man’s response. “I’m mounting a rescue. I don’t care what Bob says, I’m going after Tanis, and if he won’t let me take the I2, I’ll take the Starblade.”

“Joe…” Sanderson’s lips thinned for a moment before he resumed speaking. “You’re going to have to clear that with Jessica. She’s the acting field marshal. You know that.”

The two men stared at one another in unblinking silence for over a minute before Joe finally relented.

“OK…fine. But once we wrap things up in Sol, I’m going. I don’t care who’s field marshal then.”

Sanderson nodded and turned back toward the holodisplay. “So how are the girls doing?”

“Better than me,” he replied, letting out a long sigh as he took in the view, gazing down at the lush world turning slowly in New Canaan’s light. “They’re hiking in the Scythian Mountains, just wanted some time away from things.”

“Not a bad idea,” Sanderson said pointedly. “Maybe you should join them.”

Joe snorted. “I think I might sour the mood. They need this. Things with A1…what happened in New Sol. It put a hell of a strain on their sisterhood.”

“I can only imagine,” Sanderson replied, nodding. “Although…whenever Cary runs off half-cocked, things seem to turn out alright.” The general gave Joe a level stare. “She’s a lot like her mother in that regard.”

The hint was not subtle, and Joe took it in stride, but it really didn’t do much to improve his mood. “How’s the first fleet’s refit looking?”

“On schedule,” Sanderson replied, his voice taking on a businesslike stridence. “They’ve chewed up pretty much every free berth around Carthage, though. Rachel’s minions have been growing a lot. Hell, half her hulls aren’t even ISF origin anymore.”

“Yeah, she probably flies more Nietzschean ships than Nietzschea does these days.”

The thought caused Joe to laugh, and he felt a strange combination of relief at the knowledge that he still could, and guilt at being able to experience joy while Tanis and Angela were…wherever they were.

“We had to shunt some of them out to Normandy,” Sanderson continued. “The yard there is backed up as well, but they can do more basic resupply.”

“And Sparta?” Joe asked.

He could check that himself, but asking Sanderson gave him something to talk about other than his familial issues.

“On target. We’ll have ten thousand more rail destroyers to spread across the fleets before we hit Sol.”

Joe’s lips twisted. “I guess that’s what we have to do, now that the Heegs have stasis shields—just pin them down with unending railfire.”

“If they have to keep shields up, they can’t shoot back.”

“Could end this another way,” Joe muttered. “A few salvos from Star City, and the war would be done.”

Sanderson’s eyes widened. “You know that’s not how we operate.”

“I’m not a monster,” Joe held up his hands. “We’d give them time to evac. But you can’t tell me that if we destroyed the Cho and High Terra, it wouldn’t end all this.”

“You need to stop there.” Sanderson’s voice had lowered in tone and volume. “This isn’t you. I think you need to talk to someone.”

“I am talking to someone.”

“I mean about your feelings,” the other admiral said.

The look Sanderson directed at Joe felt like the sort that the other man used to direct his way back on the MOS—before Tanis had taken over security for the Intrepid.

“Sure, yeah. I’ll see you around, Klause.”

“You too, Evans.”

Joe made it as far as one of the bars reserved for commissioned officers, finding himself a seat at the end, a space clearing out around him.

The automaton brought him a whiskey, and he picked it up, taking a sip before wondering if it would be possible to keep his promise to Sanderson.

It would be easy to take a ship to the core. No captain would deny him, and with dozens of vessels coming off the lines each day, even taking one of those would be trivial. But he wanted to go in with a fighting chance, not just throw his life away in a quest to find out if Tanis and Angela were still alive.

Another person sat a seat away at the bar…not that Joe saw them, his head lowered nearly to his cup, but he sensed the presence of another human.

“I just want—”

“I know what you want,” the other person said, and Joe’s head snapped up to see Jason Andrews.

“Sanderson send you?”

The system governor shook his head. “No, I came here of my own volition. I want to propose something to you.”

There was a conspiratorial note in Jason’s tone, and Joe found himself sitting up straight. “Oh?”

Jason flicked his wrist, and the sounds of the bar grew muted as a dampening field settled around the pair.

“I’m done waiting,” he said. “Tanis and Sera have been gone far too long. There’s no way it would take Sera weeks to get her—especially with no word. Her QC blade hasn’t pinged back since not long after she jumped.”

“Bob says—” Joe began, surprising even himself with an appeal to the AI’s stance.

“I don’t care what Bob says,” Jason hissed. “I count Bob as one of my best friends, but he makes no secret of the fact that he has his own agenda. I get why you might be willing to go along with waiting. Bob would do anything to keep Tanis safe. Sera, however…”

Jason’s voice faltered, and Joe nodded, suddenly finding himself in the role of comforter.

He placed a hand on the other man’s arm. “I get it. I really do.”

“So? What do you say? Jessica has the support structure to run the allied fleets, and the legislature can hold down the fort while I’m gone.”

Joe pursed his lips, swallowing the surfeit of saliva that his mouth had somehow produced without his knowing. “Are you serious?”

The elder man nodded. “As a warfleet.”

“Then I’m in.”

The words had only just left his lips when a klaxon sounded, and Sanderson’s voice came over the station-wide audible address and Link.

“All hands, battle stations, enemy fleet detected seven light seconds from Carthage. Repeat, all hands, battle stations. All crews, return to your ships. This is not a drill.”

The two men shared a worried look, and Joe downed the rest of his whiskey while Jason said, “OK…like after this.”

“Right. After this.”

SNEAK ATTACK

STELLAR DATE: 05.28.8950 (Adjusted Years)

LOCATION: High Carthage

REGION: Carthage, New Canaan System

When Joe and Jason returned to the CIC, they found the formerly sedate room to be a bustling hive of activity.

“You two made good time,” Sanderson said with a nod as they approached. “You wanted action, Evans. Now you have it.”

“Not this kind of action,” Joe muttered as he glared at the holotable in the center of the room. “Wait, what is that, a few hundred ships?”

The tank showed three formations of Sirian vessels closing in on Carthage. Each numbered roughly a hundred craft, a mixture of destroyers and corvettes.

“What do they think they’re going to do with those?” Jason asked. “Wait…look at those vectors and burn profiles. They still think they’re stealthed.”

“Technically, they are,” Sanderson said. “At least, to the best of their ability. We haven’t let on that we can see them.”

Joe couldn’t resist a caustic laugh. “Idiots.”

Jason shot him a worried look. “You know that the enemy knows they can’t do any serious damage with so few ships.”

“Unless they’re profoundly stupid,” Sanderson said. “Which they’re not, so what’s their game?”

“Well, those are Heeg ships,” Joe said. “Which means they probably jumped to our interdiction field and then coasted in.”

The three formations were now within twenty light seconds of Carthage, and while the ISF had called general quarters across the home fleet, the ten thousand ships within Carthage’s nearspace hadn’t shifted their formation in any way. With luck, the enemy would continue to believe that their stealth tech was keeping them safe.

“The real question,” Joe mused as he walked around the table, “is whether or not there are more stealthed ships that we haven’t seen, or if this is some sort of special task force.”

“I think it’s a task force,” Jason said. “Given those fleet makeups, they must believe that smaller ships stand a better chance of remaining in stealth.”

Sanderson placed his hands on the edge of the table and leant over. “They’re not wrong. What’s their plan, then?”

“If it’s just these few ships, then they must plan to hit us hard…before we get our stasis shields up.” He glanced at the other men, who were nodding. “And if there are more…well…then they plan to wipe us out before we get our shields up.”

“Either way,” Jason ground out. “There are more of these bastards coming.”

“Admiral,” Joe’s tone was neutral, having lost the angry edge from moments before. “Let’s hit one of those approaching battlegroups with our gamma beam platforms. See what they and the others do.”

“I’m curious what sort of hypothesis you have,” Sanderson said.

“If the other two stealthed groups engage us, then they’re part of a larger force—which may also reveal itself. If they remain in stealth, then they have some sort of subversive objective, and a larger force may be further behind.”

Jason shrugged. “I mean, we have to fight them all eventually, but it would be nice to know if they have something up their sleeves.”

“What of the I2?” Sanderson asked. “Should we have Rachel bring it and the first fleet from Troy?”

“Not yet,” Joe said. “But tell her to keep her eyes peeled and be ready to jump here.”

Sanderson nodded, and Joe hid a small smile. Though he was technically outside Sanderson’s chain of command, the older man had grown comfortable deferring to him.

He didn’t dwell on that, though, watching as the gamma beams—high-intensity lasers that could retain cohesion across several light seconds—prepared to fire. They’d do little damage at that range, but the defensive action would serve its purpose.

“Platforms seven through nine firing,” the weapons officer announced in a clear voice, and the room fell silent, all eyes on scan results, waiting the six seconds it would take to learn the enemy’s response.

Predictably, the targeted ships jinked, but vessels that had not been struck remained on course.

“They’ve got something up their sleeves,” Sanderson muttered. “What weapon could they have that stands a chance against our ships and shields?”

Joe glanced at Jason and sighed. The other man nodded, and Joe said, “We know that DMGs and relativistic neutronium shots possess enough energy to overwhelm the powerplants on a lot of ships.”

“Neither of which are weapons that ships that small can mount,” Sanderson pointed out, his voice gruff and suspicious as he eyed the other two men.

“What we also suspect,” Jason stepped in, “is that an antimatter detonation directly above a stasis shield, not against it, would deliver enough kinetic force to briefly overwhelm the emitters.”

Sanderson’s glower deepened. “And we know the Heegs have no issue lobbing antimatter at us.”

“That they do not,” Joe confirmed. “And since they probably have their own antimatter weapons now…well, they might have had the opportunity to hone a one-two punch system. Antimatter to break a hole, then a second antimatter detonation within the shield bubble. Not even our most durable ships could survive that.”

“I would imagine using this method of attack would be pretty hard during active combat,” Jason said. “But against stationary ships or vessels on predictable paths….”

“Our CriEns should protect us better than their fusion reactors, though,” Sanderson said.

“One can hope,” Joe said, nodding soberly before he turned to address the man in command of the home fleet. “Admiral Sanderson, I think it’s time to let these bastards have it. All of them.”

“Agreed.” Sanderson gave a resolute nod and began passing orders. One of which was to bring the Starblade in from its patrol near Athens, and for the First Fleet to turn back from Troy and return to Carthage.

Time for round two.

Joe’s thoughts shifted to his daughters down on Carthage, and he reached out to them. They’d not want to be unaware of the situation, though the warnings about the impending attack would have reached them by now.

He sent a ping and turned his attention back to the fleets preparing to repel the Hegemony invaders. After a minute, he realized he’d waited far too long for a response, and reached out to Murry, the planetary AI.

<Do you know where my daughters are? They’re not responding to my messages.>

<Admiral Evans, I’m sorry, they’re not on Carthage.>

Joe’s heart leapt into his throat. Half his calm of late had come entirely from knowing that the girls were safe. If they had gone off….

<Do you know where they went?> he asked after schooling his emotions.

<They took a flight from Landfall a couple of days ago, one of the regular runs to Normandy.>

<Normandy? Wh-what for?> he stammered.

<I’m sorry, sir, I don’t know. I didn’t query them regarding their intentions.>

He thanked Murry for the information, wishing he’d thought to place some sort of alert be put on the nets if his daughters left Carthage.

Striding to a secondary holotank, he pulled up a view of New Canaan within ten AU of the star.

“What’s wrong?” Jason asked, appearing at his side a second later.

“My girls went to Normandy,” Joe replied. “I’m looking for any activity around Roma.”

Jason nodded silently, his eyes sweeping across the scan data that flowed on either side of the holotank. “There are a few anomalous signals,” he said, gesturing at several brief IR blooms that had been detected.

“Yeah, that’s—”

His words were cut off from by a massive heat bloom on Normandy’s surface.

“Fuck!”

The governor turned to Sanderson. “Roma’s under attack.”

“Great. Just great,” the admiral muttered then turned to face the other two men, arms akimbo. “We need to recall all fleets to New Canaan.”

Jason nodded. “Agreed. Do it.”

Joe tried once more to get a response from Normandy on the QC network, but still no response came. “One exception,” he said in a quiet voice. “Tell Jessica to jump directly to Roma.”

“Of course.” The other man nodded and turned to his tasks.

“Joe,” Jason pointed at the holodisplay. “Look, the Voyager is only a light minute from Normandy.”

The governor wasn’t even done speaking before Joe was sending a message to the ship.

[Katrina. Normandy is under attack. My daughters are there. Find them. Please.]

HOMECOMING

STELLAR DATE: 05.28.8950 (Adjusted Years)

LOCATION: Starkiller, 150 AU from Canaan Prime

REGION: Transcend Interstellar Alliance, Milky Way Galaxy

Tangel’s white brow furrowed as she gazed at the scan readings. Hundreds of thousands of points of light flickered within New Canaan. Some from engines, many more from weapons striking shields and hulls.

<Who is that? Who’s attacking?> Angela asked from the Grace O’Malley.

The ascended combination of Tanis and Angela felt a moment’s amusement that she was answering her own question—after a fashion.

A glance at the full-spectrum EM data told a tale she didn’t want to share, though she did anyway, activating a holo-Link so the two ships’ bridges appeared to be one.

“It looks like everyone.”

“Everyone and their dog,” Finaeus muttered. “You all piss someone off lately?”

“Haven’t lost your sense of humor, I see,” Tanis said, smiling kindly at the two men. “I still can’t believe so much has happened since….”

“Since me?” Tangel asked.

Tanis shrugged. “I was going to say ‘Pyra’, but yeah, that works, too.”

“Is the jump interdiction field still in place around New Canaan?” Darla asked, changing the topic. “I don’t read it.”

Earnest’s hands flew across his console. “It’s not really the sort of thing one is supposed to be able to dete—shit, yeah, it’s up. Good thing we stopped where we did, they pushed it out further.”

“We don’t have the week it’ll take to boost in there. We need to jump,” Tanis said. “And fast. How long till we get past the field?”

A map of New Canaan appeared in the space between the two bridges. The major planets were all clustered in the center, barely more than a smear at the distance required to show the Starkiller and Grace O’Malley’s position.

A red sphere showed where the interdiction field lay, a scant AU away from the pair of ships.

“There’s a gate just on the inside of the field,” Earnest said. “Well, I guess it’s ten AU in now, since they moved the field.” He dropped a marker on the display, highlighting a point twenty-five AU away.

“Best we can hope for, then,” Tanis said. “Let’s get a move—” She stopped herself and turned to Tangel. “Shit…I’m used to being in charge. Is that you now, though?”

“Sure as hell isn’t me,” Sera muttered, sounding both relieved and annoyed.

Tangel resisted smiling at the statement, while Tanis shot the red-skinned woman a curious look.

“I’ll advise you,” Tangel said. “But…my role in all this is shifting. You should take the lead.”

Angela laughed. <Good, because I don’t think you could stop her anyway.>

“I can moderate myself!” Tanis exclaimed with mock chagrin. “Anyway, yes, to the jump gate. Full boost.”

“Tally-ho and all that,” Finaeus added with a droll laugh as he set the course for the Starkiller. “Just one question.”

“Yes?” Tanis asked.

“Do you have…a plan?”

MOPPING UP

STELLAR DATE: 05.28.8950 (Adjusted Years)

LOCATION: Voyager, near Normandy

REGION: Roma, New Canaan System

The Voyager dove through a cloud of debris drifting away from Normandy, the explosive death of a cruiser pushing the remains of several ships and a few satellites toward the moon’s L1 with Roma.

“I hope that wasn’t one of ours we just flew through,” Carl said as he closed the gap with an AST cruiser. “I’d hate to think we have some ISF Marine stuck to our nose.”

“That’s a little macabre,” Katrina replied. “Like, a lot macabre.”

The first mate gave an apologetic shrug. “Well, in my mind they weren’t dead or anything, just clinging to the ship screaming ‘Ayiieeeeeeeeee’ as we hurtled through space.”

“Totally what I was thinking too,” Malorie said with a laugh.

“Really?” Katrina glanced back at the spider-woman, her expectant expression disappearing as Malorie’s many eyes winked back.

“Sorry, no, not really.”

“Jerk.”

She brought her attention back to the cruiser they were closing on, the enemy ship’s scan showing it to be more than a little hot under the shields after a protracted battle with the ISF ships defending Roma.

It was taking all her focus to keep her mind on the battle and not worry about Joe’s message. So far, there was no sign of Cary and her sisters, and so long as an AST battlegroup was flitting about, there’d be no concerted search for them, either.

“Get us on the starboard side of their engines,” Katrina said. “I can hammer them from there.”

“On it.” Carl rolled the Voyager around the cruiser’s engine wash, bringing them into position for Katrina to fire their atom beams, following the blast with a salvo from their main railgun.

<Their captain must be crying into his coffee as a little pirate ship blows holes in his cruiser,> Troy said with a laugh. <I could do this all day.>

“Judging by how many enemies are closing in, you just might have to,” Katrina replied. “And this is just their little sneak attack battlegroup.”

“Plus…” Carl paused as he slewed the Voyager to port, keeping them on target for Katrina to keep firing at the gap in the shields around the other ships’ engines. “What makes you think this ship’s Heeg skipper is sipping joe while tungsten is fired up his ass?”

“Uh…that’s graphic,” Kirb commented from his seat at the scan station.

<Yeah, that’s a visual I didn’t need to construct. And…I dunno, I sort of always picture AST ship commanders as being all detached and drinking coffee during battle.>

“Whatever floats your boat, Troy,” Katrina said as she let another salvo fly, this one finally knocking out the cruiser’s starboard engine.

<Good thing too, since you’re all in my boat.>

“Exactly,” the captain replied. “And can I just add, ‘Suck it, Commander Coffee Sipper’!”

<OK…I can see why that doesn’t really have a lot of punch.>

Carl let out a coarse laugh. “Hey, whatever works. You gonna finish them off, Cap?”

“Letting them blow all their pods first. Then we’re gonna knock that hull right outta the sky.”

Malorie stifled a laugh. “You seem a little touchy, Katrina.”

“I just want this stupid war to be over already. Is that too much to ask? I mean, we were right on Sol’s doorstep, and then we get sucked back here to New Canaan. They can’t possibly think they’ll win with this little advance force, can they?”

“I mean, maybe they know some sort of secret,” Kirb suggested.

“No,” Katrina replied. “There’s no way. Which means this is a distraction.”

<To draw us all to New Canaan?> Troy asked. <To what end? It’ll only buy them a week at best.>

“Just keep your focus,” Carl said. “The faster we deal with this mess, the faster we can find Joe’s girls and then get back to finishing off the Heegs back at Sol.”

“I’ve always wanted to see Sol,” Malorie hissed from her perch in the small bridge’s rear left corner. “I wonder what it’ll be like.”

<It’s just another star system,> Troy replied. <Filled with decent folks and a healthy smattering of assholes.>

“Speaking from experience?” Katrina asked.

The AI made an audible snort. <Uh…yeah, but then most of the decent people left, so it’s really just assholes now.>

“Yeah, but the Cho is there,” Malorie chittered. “And High Terra…those are like ancient artifacts!”

“Full of people from Sol,” Carl muttered. “That’s worse than people from Bollam’s.”

“What about from Sirius?” Malorie asked.

“Whoa, now.” Carl raised a hand in protest. “Let’s not get carried away.”

Katrina half turned, her gaze sweeping across her crew. “Can we focus? There are still three more Heeg destroyers here. We need to clear them out so the ISF can deploy more ships from the yard inside Normandy—once they finish dealing with the enemy soldiers storming the place.”

“What they get for building shipyards inside moons,” Kirb huffed as he ran a recharge sequence on the Voyager’s beam weapons. “Makes taking them out like shooting fish in a barrel.”

<You know that doesn’t work, right?> Troy asked. <Plus, their process essentially converts moon directly into starship. It’s a useful place to do it.>

“Can we debate the merits of the ISF’s choice of ship-building locations some other time?” Katrina asked as she spun the Voyager and punched the engines.

Her new vector took them closer to Roma’s roiling clouds, where the last three AST ships were fleeing, likely hoping to disappear into the gas giant and weather the retribution that was coming.

“You got it,” Carl replied. “Tabled. Now let’s finish these bastards off.”

“They’re not very smart,” Malorie commented. “Don’t those Heegs know they can’t run stasis shields in the clouds? They have to know that, right?”

A wave of fear hit Katrina, and she decreased thrust, not wanting to close with the enemy ships if there was a risk they’d do something so foolhardy.

“Yeah, they gotta know they can’t run stasis in atmo. There’s no way the AST would outfit ships with that tech and not train people on it, right?”

No one replied, and Katrina’s voice rose in pitch.

“Right?”

“Oh sure,” Carl nodded with mock enthusiasm. “We can fully trust the AST to make smart choices in all things.”

“And you badgering us to agree will totally change reality,” Malorie added.

Katrina groaned. “Why did I bring you on as crew again?”

“Who, me?” the spider-woman asked.

“Sure, let’s start with you.”

“Beats me,” Malorie replied. “I can’t remember that far back. I think it was something about you being a vindictive bitch and forcing me into this body.”

“Funny,” Katrina muttered. “I have a few other memories of that time.”

“Really?” Malorie asked innocently. “I’d love to hear them some time when we’re not fighting against half the fucking Hegemony.”

The captain had to bite back a laugh at the other woman’s repartee.

They both had their fair share of guilt to bear over actions taken all those centuries ago, though the sting had diminished enough over time that jokes could be cracked.

So long as those jokes didn’t go too far back.

Katrina returned to the task of giving Carl and Troy the best angles she could manage, letting her first mate and the ship’s AI manage the weapons.

They holed the first destroyer before it made it more than a hundred thousand kilometers, but the second two deployed countermeasures—and no small number of missiles—forcing the Voyager to fall further back.

“We can’t let them get down there,” Katrina said. “If we do, we lose our advantage.”

The others nodded, all knowing that while they could power the Voyager’s stasis shields with a pair of CriEns, the AST vessels would slowly fall, one-by-one, as their fusion reactors overheated. But down in Roma’s clouds, where stasis shields could not be used, the odds would flip, and the pair of destroyers would easily outgun them.

“I think this warrants an RM,” she said after the enemy ships managed to pull further ahead. “Or maybe four.”

“What are you thinking?” Carl asked. “Time them for when the Heegs hit cloud?”

“Exactly. Let’s break off, make them think we’re abandoning the pursuit.”

<I have an optimal vector,> Troy said. <We should be able to get far enough around Roma that they won’t see us fire the RMs.>

“Lay it on me,” Katrina said, nodding when the route appeared on her display. “You want me to fly it, or do you want to keep the helm?”

<Think you can do it?> There was a note of challenge in Troy’s voice.

Katrina was tempted to accept it, but polishing off the enemy ships was more important.

“No, you take over.”

<On it.>

The Voyager broke off its pursuit, shifting onto a vector that would put them in a high orbit around the gas giant. Once they were stable, Troy spun the vessel and fired the engines, using a holtzman transfer to bring them closer to Roma.

To the enemy, it would look like the Voyager was staying close to keep an eye on them—something Katrina reinforced by dropping a few probes in their path. With any luck, the Heegs wouldn’t suspect RMs for just two destroyers, but that luck depended on them not knowing how Katrina fought.

I don’t like to leave things left undone.

“I think they’re buying it,” Kirb said. “Look, both of the destroyers are slowing. Looks like they’re going for an equatorial insertion.”

“Nothing to see here,” Malorie said with a laugh. “Just a couple of big fucking ship-shaped clouds.”

<Little, really,> Troy replied.

“Always ruining my fun,” the spider-woman shot back. “I was saying it ironically.”

<Oh, couldn’t tell. Maybe you should announce it next time.>

“Kids…” Katrina warned. “OK, we’re on the right vector now. We locked and loaded, Carl?”

“Ready as I’ll ever be. Good thing we get these things for free now. Remember how much an RM used to cost?”

“Totally spoiled,” Camille agreed, speaking from the bridge’s entrance. “We almost done here? I know we can handle the heat better than the Heegs, but the engineering deck is hot enough to fry an egg.”

<That’s a bit of hyperbole,> Troy commented. <But it won’t be in ten minutes.>

“Fire,” Katrina instructed Carl, ignoring the byplay.

“First two are away,” he replied a moment later. “And…there go the lot.”

“Stay on course,” Katrina advised Troy. “We’ll make it back around just as the RMs hit.”

<Plus…you dropped probes. Don’t need our eyes on it.>

“That too.”

<You doing alright?> the AI asked privately. <You must still be on the mend after Brilliance. I can’t remember the last time you surrendered the helm without a fight.>

<I’m alright, more or less. And I can recall a few times I handed it over, don’t be all dramatic.>

<Coffee breaks don’t count.>

<Oh, well then….>

<Seriously, though. You good?>

Katrina sighed, her eyes on the RMs’ impact countdowns. <Yeah? Maybe? I don’t know. Does it matter? We have to do what we have to do. War doesn’t make time for mental health days.>

The AI sent warmth and compassion across the Link. <No, but sometimes we have to take them anyway.>

<Nice use of ‘we’, Mister Resilience.>

<Noticed that, did you?>

Katrina didn’t respond until the counter slipped below two minutes. <I won’t lie, I could use a good long nap right about now. But that’ll come soon enough. We just have to make two booms, then Roma space is free and clear.>

<Good thing too, that next wave looks like a doozy.>

The captain nearly snorted aloud. <A doozy?>

<Seemed to fit.>

“Thirty seconds to impact,” Carl announced. “I don’t think the Heegs have seen the missiles yet.”

<They’re below the horizon,> Troy replied.

“Yeah, I know that, but we’re not the only ones who can deploy probes.”

<Fair.>

Katrina didn’t bother stifling a laugh, but it turned into a groan. “Well, shit…they saw one of them.”

Both destroyers were shifting vector, moving from a gentle descent into Roma’s clouds to a steep dive.

<Idiots,> Troy said, his tone laden with derision. <That’s the last thing they should do. Defense beams are less effective and…yup, they just had to disable stasis shields.>

“Wasn’t it our hope that they’d do something stupid?” Malorie asked.

<Sure, doesn’t mean I have to like it.>

The AST ships blew chaff and sparklers into the planet’s clouds, and one RM took the bait, detonating in open air a dozen kilometers from one of the ships.

A shockwave rippled through the clouds, blowing the upper reaches away as a flat-topped cloud stretched out toward space. The blast also cleared many of the enemy countermeasures, and once the EM had subsided, the other three missiles closed on their targets.

The clear skies gave the AST ships better sightlines, and one of the remaining RMs took a hit, spinning away in the light blue cumulous strata, its descent obscured moments later by two kineto-nuclear blasts as the surviving pair of missiles delivered their one-two punches.

<Debris is consistent with two direct impacts,> Troy reported. <I don’t think we’ll be seeing them again.>

“Let’s come around and be sure,” Katrina replied. “I wouldn’t want to say it’s all clear and then have a missile salvo come out of Roma’s clouds and hit ships leaving Normandy.”

Carl nodded. “Stole the words right out of my mouth. We’ll take a good look-see.”

THE PRESIDENT’S MOTHER

STELLAR DATE: 05.28.8950 (Adjusted Years)

LOCATION: TSS Regent Mary

REGION: Near Roma, New Canaan System

The star-speckled darkness of regular space snapped back into place around the Regent Mary, and President Krissy Wrentham rose from her command seat and stalked to the bridge’s holotank.

She remained silent as scan slowly propagated the positions of the worlds and fleets within the New Canaan System, her reluctance to speak as much due to the compulsion in her mind, as the presence of the woman beside her.

My mother.

Lisa Wrentham, also known as A1, had been an enemy of the Transcend since Krissy had been young, choosing to side with Kirkland against the Tomlinson brothers—her father and uncle.

If she were honest with herself, they were all assholes as often as not, but some of her opinions had as much to do with how complicated familial relations could be as it had to do with their actions in general.

But now Mother is here.

The thought both soothed and terrified her, and the president glanced cautiously at the woman. She didn’t wear the face Krissy remembered, nor did she resemble a Widow. Instead, Lisa wore a nondescript face with mousy brown hair, and was going by the name ‘Elle’.

The story they were using was that she was a deep-cover Hand agent that had finally returned to the Transcend after acquiring extensive experience in Inner Stars politics. Which, judging by the array of nations attacking New Canaan, would be more than a little useful.

At least, that was the story.

Mother knows what she’s doing.

“Even the Sarentians are here.” Krissy finally spoke aloud. “Quite the trek from the Southern Crown.”

“Yet another place gate tech has spread,” Elle replied. “We’re going to have a hell of a job purging it from the galaxy.”

Krissy glanced at her mother, surprise registering on her face. “Really? Is that the plan?”

Elle shot her a dark look, but responded via the Link. <You’re the president. Don’t ask questions like that aloud. And yes. Maintaining galactic peace when every star has jump gate tech will be impossible. It will be like the FTL Wars all over again.>

<I feel like we’re already having those again.>

Her mother sighed and nodded. <True. Which is why we need to nip this in the bud. It’s why the masses can’t be allowed to have such advanced technology. There’s always someone ready to use it for no good.>

<What of New Canaan?> Krissy asked. <What if Sera found Tangel? She won’t accept turning over their largess.>

A troubled look came over Elle. <Perhaps we can make an arrangement. Before this all began, her people wished to be isolationists. That may still be possible.>

The Transcend’s president wondered how, but decided not to push the issue for now. Even questioning her mother about issues clearly within their current scope of operation caused some discomfort.

Acknowledging that reality caused Krissy to wonder what it was that she was being stopped from doing. All of her actions felt natural, but just the very idea that she was toeing the line made her wonder if it was the right decision.

As soon as that thought formed, it was gone, and she turned to Admiral Greer as he strode onto the bridge.

“Admiral.”

“President Krissy. What are your orders?”

“Bring us past the interdiction field, and deploy gates. We need to get in there to help the ISF.”

“Of course. Do you have a vector we should pursue?”

Krissy drew a finger to her jaw, stroking it as she considered options. “We should jump to Roma. Based on the current battlespace, the ISF will hold the AST and Sarentians there—at least, for a time. We’ll come in behind those forces and break the enemy formations. That should make them easy pickings for ISF drone swarms.”

“Seems reasonable, from what we know right now,” Greer replied, his eyes distant as he nodded, likely looking at a simulation in his mind. “But what of those Sirian ships coming in from the far side of the system?”

“Shit!” Krissy shook her head as Scan updated the main display with a massive fleet moving toward Carthage. “I guess we know what happened to the rest of the Sirian defense fleet.”

<Remember,> Elle said privately. <We don’t want the Inner Stars fleets to win, but if New Canaan takes a beating, that won’t upset anyone. Also, Tanis’s daughters will be at Carthage…we need to avoid them as best we can.>

<Are you sure?> Krissy asked. <Won’t losing Carthage break the ISF?>

<Krissy…why do you think they call their fleet the Intrepid Space Force? That ship is their nation’s heart, not some ball of mud.>

She considered her mother’s words, all too aware of how impossible it would be to defeat the I2.

The Nietzscheans had attempted it with over seventy thousand ships, and the mighty vessel had come through unscathed. If they so chose, the ISF could fly it out of New Canaan, and no one would be able to stop them.

Krissy was saved from having to come up with a more convincing explanation by scan showing an ISF fleet coming in behind the Sirian ships.

“Look,” she nodded to the display. “Admiral Carson has brought his fleet back from Genevia. I suppose that means Rika has secured her people’s old capital.”

“Those look like Transcend ships,” Elle said, highlighting a fleet moving toward Carthage from the opposite side as the Sirians.

Greer approached the holotank, where he reached out and tapped the formation, expanding the view. “Well, now we know where she is.”

“So much for hoping she’d fallen into a hole and died,” Krissy added.

“Who?” Elle asked.

“Jeffrey’s oldest daughter, Andrea,” Greer ground out the words. “Otherwise known as the galaxy’s biggest pain in the ass.”

Elle scowled. “I thought Orion killed her at Vela.”

“We’d kinda hoped so as well,” Krissy replied. “Looks like those hopes were in vain.”

“Either way.” Greer flipped the view back to a broader swath of New Canaan. “Roma is our best bet to disrupt the attackers. The AST is clearly the ringleader here. If we break their formations, the attackers will lose cohesion.”

The president nodded. “Then let’s get to it.”

MARSHAL

STELLAR DATE: 05.28.8950 (Adjusted Years)

LOCATION: ISS Carthage, near Roma

REGION: New Canaan System

“They’re like fucking cockroaches!” Jessica exclaimed as yet another enemy fleet appeared on scan. “Who is that?”

Trevor let out a rueful laugh. “More cockroaches.”

<Those are TSF engine signatures…plus a few others in the mix,> Kerr said. The Carthage’s AI seemed perturbed. <That’s not where I would have expected them to jump in, though.>

Jessica scanned the ships, looking for any hulls she recognized. One jumped out, and she muttered a curse. “That’s the Almeda Point. Those asshats signed non-aggression with us and the TSF after they split away last year.”

“So much for honor,” Captain Ophelia said. “We’re going to have to leave them to the home fleet. Maybe with luck, we can mop up these Heegs before the Sirians reach Carthage and then help out.”

The field marshal nodded soberly as she reviewed the data flowing in from across New Canaan. At Joe’s request, she’d jumped directly to Roma to deal with the AST ships moving toward the planet, only to find themselves in a pitched fight involving an AST assault on Normandy.

The last few ships had been dealt with, but the reprieve had barely begun when new enemy fleet signatures began to appear all across the system. Most troubling of which were the million Sirian ships just a few AU from Carthage.

She felt a modicum of resentment toward Joe for his request that she jump to Roma. There was no sign that his daughters were anywhere in the vicinity, and now she was five AU from Carthage where the bulk of the enemy was headed.

“Ma’am!” the comm officer nearly leapt out of his seat. “Admiral Carson has just jumped in from Genevia. He’s moving to engage the Sirians.”

Relief flooded her. “Tightband him everything we have on their recent technological advances. He won’t know they have stasis shields, what with having been living it up with Rika.”

“What about the AST ships?” Captain Ophelia asked. “Odds on them having our shields?”

Jessica pursed her lips. “Given where Sirius got them from, I’d say ‘high’.”

“Fucking high,” Trevor added.

<Damn the core AIs,> Kerr’s voice contained more than a little derision. <Why the fuck do they feel the need to mess with everything?>

“I’m going to go with ‘they’re evil’,” Iris said, her silver brow pulled down as she shook her head. “Or at least, they’ve taken ‘don’t give a fuck’ to epic proportions.”

“Seems like rather direct action for not giving a fuck,” Ophelia said. “Either way, cursing at them doesn’t change our reality now.”

Jessica nodded while studying the display. “OK, so the AST is moving toward Roma with four formations, and the Sarentians make a fifth. Each fleet contains at least a hundred thousand ships, so we’ve just gotta pit our few thousands against that and hope for the best.”

She said it with a laugh, but Iris only nodded soberly. “Yeah, though at the current range, it’s difficult to pick out the smaller vessels, with the engine flares of so many ships braking on approach.”

“At least they’re not running as many dreadnoughts as they used to,” Trevor said. “Those were some nice, juicy targets.”

“Those statement are kind of in conflict,” Iris commented.

His lips twisted. “Yeah, I guess they are. I mean that they were juicy then, but would be a pain in the ass with stasis shields.”

“We’ll get to find out how much,” Iris said while gesturing at the slowly clarifying scan data. “There looks to be a lot of them in these formations. Those things can probably take a hell of a beating.”

“And we’ll have to wear them down before they reach the inner worlds,” Jessica said, crossing her arms and doing her best to look strong and resolute.

Where in the stars are you, Tanis?

Her words were more easily spoken than enacted. Should the AST get even a dozen dreadnoughts within firing range of Carthage—or any of the other four inner worlds—they could utterly decimate the world in very short order.

Which means we have to keep that from happening.

A glance at the system-wide display had Jessica reconsidering the Sirian ships.

No, leave those to Carson and Rachel. I have enough to worry about here.

<Caldwell,> she reached out to the newly-minted general. <I’m leaving the Sarentians to you. I couldn’t begin to guess as to whether or not they have stasis, shields, though.>

The light lag to his fleet was three seconds each way, and the man’s response began with a laugh.

<I was just about to ask you that. I’ll fire some rail shots at them to see. If they are, can I tap into the defense platforms?>

Caldwell’s eagerness brought a smile to Jessica’s lips.

<I suppose, since you asked nicely. It’s going to be a slugfest no matter how we slice it, though,> she warned.

<After spending a year in the PED with no backup, slugfests are all I know.>

<Sure, against inferior forces.>

<In tech, not volume. Besides, we had to resupply out there. Can’t hide behind shields all the time.>

Jessica found herself nodding.

The AST ships wouldn’t have that issue, though. Unlike Caldwell’s fleet, the enemy forces were fresh for the fight, with no need to lower their shields for any reason.

Unless…

She focused the main holo display on the AU of space around Roma. The enemy’s five fleet divisions were spread out over six light minutes of space, most passing on the spinward side of the gas giant, with only the Sarentians and a small detachment of AST ships on a vector that would bring them anti-spinward of the world.

Like all large planets with a liquid metallic core, Roma generated a considerable magnetic field, one so vast that Canaan Prime’s stellar wind stretched them out for five AU beyond, well past Sidon’s orbit.

A recent coronal mass ejection had the field’s van allen belts almost visibly glowing from the streams of plasma and ionized gas flowing down their length. They were dangerous enough that the AST fleets were vectoring to avoid the belts, but three of the enemy battlegroups would pass only half a light minute above Roma’s trailing magnetosphere.

“Kerr,” the field marshal began, a question evident in her tone. “What do you think of setting off a little EMP?”

<An EMP doesn’t have any measurable effect on stasis shields,> the AI replied.

“No, that’s true, but it’ll tax the enemy’s powerplants. If we can force them to divert more energy to shields, that’ll be less they can use to shoot at us, and we can wear them down.”

“I don’t see how that’ll work,” Ophelia frowned. “It’ll be an annoyance at best.”

Jessica brought up a view of Roma’s van allen belts, loaded with a small moon’s mass worth of plasma.

“Just look at that delicious energy. If we set off a chain reaction in there…well, let’s just say we’ll do more than annoy the enemy ships.”

The captain’s eyes widened. “You’re talking about a vacuum blast!”

<The conditions are right,> Kerr said. <We could attempt it. We’ll need to send out a wing of destroyers to effect it, though. They…might not survive.>

“Then we send out ones that are NSAI-powered,” Iris suggested. “It would only take…sixty-three?”

<Seventy-six, by my math,> the AI replied.

Jessica flipped through the destroyers in her fleet, selecting the craft capable of emitting the field.

<Are you doing what I think you are?> Symatra said, her voice carrying a slight note of cautious derision. <You can’t pop the vacuum so close to Roma.>

<Why does everyone have colloquial names for this?> Jessica asked.

<I had ancestors at Tau Ceti when they first figured out how to do this,> Symatra replied. <They had a lot of crazy names for it.>

The field marshal blinked in surprise. She’d never thought of Symatra as having ancestors. The AI honestly seemed like she’d just sprung fully formed from a planetary network somewhere, already grouchy and jaded.

<So will it work?>

<Sure, and light Roma on fire.>

<Really?> Jessica scowled as she reviewed what she knew of vacuum EMPs. <How’s tha—oh shit…the tritium concentration in the ionized gas mix….>

<Exactly,> Symatra replied. <A bit on the high side. It’ll ignite a fusion shockwave that’ll slam into Roma’s poles like a neutron star.>

The field marshal drew a deep breath, considering the AI’s words. <I don’t know what option we have. We need to slow down those dreadnoughts…heat them up, and force them to drop shields or roast.>

<Then we’ll have to plant nukes near Roma’s belts. We blow them in time with the EMP. That’ll break the bands and ensure we don’t destroy a planet.>

<It wouldn’t destroy it,> Jessica countered.

<Close enough—we’d at least have to evacuate the moons and gas mines.>

She nodded. Time was of the essence, and while most civilians occupying the moons and stations around Roma were already leaving, not all of them would clear out in time.

<Good,> Symatra agreed. <Then I’m tasking you with this operation. I’ll bring the bulk of the fleet spinward around Roma, and we’ll deal with whoever makes it through.>

<Great…so glad I spoke up.>

Symatra disconnected, and Jessica watched as the destroyers she selected began to spread out and boost toward the incoming AST ships.

Unlike the prior battle of New Canaan, which had been fought by ships under high acceleration hurtling past one another at relativistic speeds, this battle would be fought at low-v, a luxury afforded by stasis shields, as well as limited time for the defenders to accelerate.

Slugfest will be an understatement.

The thought brought a wave of melancholy she was certain the rest of the fleet crews felt as well. Even if the Transcend sent fleets to aid their allies, nearly two million enemy ships were closing on New Canaan’s inner worlds. It was likely that making the aggressors pay dearly for their victory was all the ISF would manage.

Stars, how did Tanis do this time and time again and make it all look so easy?

Jessica glanced at Trevor, then Iris. They both gave her encouraging nods, and she considered that Tanis had managed the same way: surrounded by good people that she could trust to get the job done.

* * * * *

<I want to see concentrated fire on that carrier!> Admiral Carson shouted, half out of his seat as one of the rearguard Sirian ships began to spew more drones into the black.

One thing he was grateful for was that the enemy fighters did not seem to have stasis shields—not that they’d encountered yet—which meant his own wings of ARC-6As would mop the black with them.

Eventually….

“How long till we can have our wings deployed?” he asked Captain Thea.

“We have the malfunction in the port chutes sorted,” she replied, a look of relief clearly visible in her eyes. “First wing will be out in seconds.”

“Good,” he said, turning back to the holotank. “I want them to hit these other two Sirian carriers. They can’t deploy those fucking drone swarms if we’re beating the shit out of them.”

“Yes, sir,” Thea replied. “We’ll do our best. They already have tens of thousands deployed, though.”

He sighed, nodding as he considered his fleet’s options.

Over the years, his initial few thousand ships had multiplied until he commanded nearly ten thousand vessels, many of which were captured Nietzschean hulls, including a core of Harriet-class carriers seized from the fleet facilities at Epsilon.

He’d recently made one of those vessels, the Pyric Storm, his flagship, the six-kilometer-long craft home to over a thousand crewed fighters and a hundred thousand drones.

Though it wasn’t a patch on the swarms the enemy seemed to be producing.

“Look at those things move,” he whispered as the Sirian swarms fell back from the enemy fleet, slowing to move into the midst of the pursuing ISF ships.

“How do they manage that amount of real-time coordination?” Thea asked. “Sirians don’t use SAI, and NSAI aren’t….”

<That creative?> Kith, the ship’s AI, supplied. <First wing is in the black, by the way. I’m shielding them with our drones as well.>

“Good,” Carson nodded, noting with satisfaction that the Sirian carrier had stopped belching fighter-craft as the ISF ships hammered it with beamfire.

With CriEns generating energy, the ISF ships could keep up the pressure, but eventually, even they would heat up, operating at max power. Even with their stasis shields, the enemy vessels were no match for Carson’s ships, but being outnumbered a hundred to one weren’t the sort of odds that heralded victory.

Even for the Intrepid Space Force.

The Sirian drone swarm was fully immersed in the ISF fleet now, and Carson spewed orders to his ships, moving them into formations that afforded them the most protection possible while his own drones and fighters wore down the enemy numbers.

Or tried to.

On the starward side of his formation, a destroyer exploded, and seconds later, a cruiser began to vent atmosphere as its stasis shields failed and the ship’s hull was holed.

“Shit, how are they wearing us down so fast?” he demanded.

<We just got a tightbeam from Field Marshal Jessica,> Kith announced. <It contains the details of their recent engagements with the Sirians. It looks…oh, this is disgusting. The enemy is using shackled groups of SAIs to control these drones.>

“In some sort of pseudo-multinodal configuration?” Carson asked. “How is that possible?”

<It looks like they got help from core AIs.>

“What a bunch of fuckers,” Carson grunted and shook his head. “OK. If they’re running those AIs in that sort of setup, then they have to be in one place. We find that one ship and take it out.”

“And if they’re doing it from more than one ship?” Thea asked as another ISF cruiser fell behind, its hull venting atmosphere and bleeding escape pods.

“Then we take out more than one of their ships. We need to take out the Sirian’s big daddies and the drones. If we can pull that off, then the I2 can finish the job when they get in range.”

The expression on Thea’s face suggested that she didn’t think it would be nearly that easy—a sentiment Carson shared, but couldn’t express.

Gotta put on a brave face, and all that.

GTFO

STELLAR DATE: 05.26.8950 (Adjusted Years)

LOCATION: Sabrina, Sedna

REGION: Sol System, Hegemony of Worlds

<Another group is coming around on the right,> Sabrina advised, and Nance spun, laying down covering fire in the indicated direction while Sabs dashed across the road that ran between the rows of seats, taking cover behind a thick cradle arm.

<Sure have a lot of soldiers for some little podunk port in the ass-end of nowhere,> she shouted while firing at the approaching troops, forcing them to scatter for cover before Nance ran across, sliding behind another cradle arm.

<Noticed that, did you?> Nance asked. <The access shaft is just past this cradle. Cover me, and I’ll get down there.>

<What do you think I’m doing?> Sabs retorted.

<Just make it fast,> Sabrina called. <These ships around us are starting to wear my shields down. I can’t sit here forever, and I don’t want to blow up the planet by using stasis.>

<You won’t blow—> Nance began, but Sabrina interrupted her.

<Not the point, Nance.>

<Right, sorry.>

Sabs swapped her rifle to electron beam mode and moved to a position with fewer obstructions between her and the approaching soldiers. Under her initial barrage, they’d moved from the road to the surrounding ships, taking cover in the cradles as well.

A few were firing and not changing positions after shooting, so she opened up on them, straight blue-white lines of lightning streaking out across the spaceport, showering the targets in relativistic electrons.

<Made it,> Nance said from the access shaft. <Going down.>

<Good luck,> Sabs replied.

<To you too.>

They’d had no luck breaching the spaceport’s systems to shut off the grav beam that was holding Sabrina to Sedna’s surface. The only option was to physically disable the emitters. Nance had volunteered for that while Sabs’s armored frame gave her the best odds of holding back the waves of Heeg soldiers.

A shot streaked over her shoulder, and she spun to see another group of enemies moving in from behind. They had been stealthed well enough that her nanoprobes hadn’t spotted them.

Until they shot at my ass.

She turned toward them, switching to HE kinetics while two small missile pods opened up on her back, a quartet of rockets spiraling toward the first group.

“You assholes wanna play rough? Let’s play rough!”

<That’s some serious innuendo, there,> Sabrina said. <But hilarious.>

<You ready to dust off?> Sabs asked in response. <We need to get Cheeky and Fina, and blow this place.>

<You don’t say? And yes. I have the burners ready. Getting less and less worried about torching this whole damn spaceport with each passing second. Plus side, the fire we’re sustaining has melted the cradle away.>

Sabs laughed as she put a trio of slugs into an armored enemy that had managed to get within a dozen meters. <Unintended benefits there. Nance should be just—>

<Got it!> Nance shouted over the Link. <Emitters are toast.>

Sabrina gave a cry of delight. <I’m in the air!>

<Get up here,> Sabs said to Nance. <We need to get to some high ground.>

<You sure? I figured I could stay down here and become a mole-person.>

Sabs let another pair of rockets fly, blowing the supports out from under a ship and—hopefully—dropping it on a few enemies before moving toward the shaft Nance had gone down.

<OK, I think we have an opening. Get up here, and I’ll jump us onto one of these ships.>

<Almost there.>

Sabs deployed another batch of nanoprobes, keeping an eye on the surrounding area, watching for more stealthed enemies.

On her left, one of the soldiers she thought had been crushed appeared from behind a stack of cargo marked with large ‘Fragile’ stickers. He opened fire, several kinetic rounds ricocheting off Sabs’s armored body before she brought her rifle to bear and sent three HE rounds toward the man. One hit the crate, and two hit him. Both targets exploded in a shower of plas and other less savory things.

Then Nance was pulling herself out of the shaft. Sabs wrapped an arm around her, crouched, and leapt into the air, sailing thirty meters up to land on the hull of a boxy insystem hauler. They clambered along its surface before getting to the ship’s dorsal point defense beams, which were, thankfully, powered down.

<Sabrina!> Nance called out. <We’re ready for a snatch job.>

<Again with the innuendo,> the ship’s AI replied with a laugh. <Just circling around, didn’t want to sit still.>

“There she is,” Sabs said aloud as Sabrina’s distinctive hull came around the spaceport’s control tower, glinting in the light of Sedna’s fusion sun.

“What’s that?” Nance pointed at a small shape detaching from the tower, followed a second later by another.

“Skiffs?” Sabs suggested. “Let’s hope it’s Cheeky and Fina.”

Sabrina boosted toward Sabs and Nance, spinning at the last moment to come around behind them, the forward bay doors open with Misha leaning out, hand stretched toward them.

“Come with me if you want to live!” he shouted over the sound of the starship’s engines.

“Lame,” Nance hollered over the cacophony as Sabs tossed her up. “You can’t use that line.”

Sabs jumped up after to see Misha sticking his tongue out at the engineer. “Haters gonna hate,” he called back.

<Hold on to something,> Sabrina warned before the ship thrust forward, conflicting a-grav forces making even Sabs feel unsteady.

She turned forward, watching as the two skiffs moved to line up with the ship, Cheeky aboard one and Fina on the other. Fina’s skiff slewed to the side, and she caught sight of a frame hanging off the back.

<You’ve got a hitchhiker!> she called out, hoping they finally had a connection to the woman.

<I know! Want to lend a hand?>

Fina slewed the skiff again, exposing her unwanted passenger for Sabs to take a shot.

She let fly with a kinetic round, then another. Both struck their target, but the AI frame didn’t let go, holding on with its clawed feet, arms reaching toward Fina, who was firing blindly behind herself with a pulse pistol.

Cheeky flew straight for the open bay door, her skiff hitting the deck and sliding to the rear bulkhead while Fina was still several seconds away.

Fina’s jaw was set, one hand maintaining a death grip on the handlebars while the other still fired blindly. Sabs moved to the side, hoping to get another shot off, but there was no way to do so without risking hitting the skiff.

Fina was just meters away from Sabrina when a series of rounds streaked up from below and slammed into the smaller craft, blowing a hole through the side, and sending shrapnel slashing across Fina’s leg.

The skiff dropped toward the ground, but Fina jumped off, arm outstretched for the ship. Then another blast hit her, and she spun to the side, falling between two ships.

<Go!> Fina called up. <Get out of here! You have to get the intel to Finaeus and Earnest! They’ll know what to do.>

<No!> Sabrina wailed. <I won’t let you go. We can still—>

<That’s an order, Sabrina. Get the intel out of here.>

Sabs wanted to call out as well, but she couldn’t think of what to say. Fina had passed her a databurst with the details of the nanophage, but the AI couldn’t bear the thought of leaving the other woman behind.

She struggled to the edge of the bay as Sabrina came about. She couldn’t make out Fina, but the ground was swarming with soldiers, a few AI frames standing out amongst them. Several ships were lifting off, their weapons targeting Sabrina, and she steeled herself for what they had to do.

<Sabrina. We have to go.>

<I know.>

The ship’s grav drives reached full power, punching them away from the spaceport before the fusion burners lit up, setting the plains to the north of the port afire.

<We’ll be back.>

THE JUMP

STELLAR DATE: 05.28.8950 (Adjusted Years)

LOCATION: Grace O’ Malley, 145 AU from Canaan Prime

REGION: New Canaan System

The gate sprang to life, its mirrors reflecting the exotic energy produced by antimatter emitters to a central nexus: the roiling madness of not-space that would grant them passage across the millions of kilometers to where the action was.

“The biggest threat is the Sirians,” Tanis said to Sera. “We have to get there to stop them.”

“Oh?” Sera cocked an eyebrow. “What do you think one ship can do?”

“It’s not the ship, it’s who’s on it,” Tanis replied. “Between the six of us, we can deal them a hell of a blow.”

“What are you thinking?” Darla asked, regarding Tanis with curiosity.

“Don’t look at me like that.” Tanis folded her arms in defiance.

<It’s the only look she has,> Angela said. <You just never got to see it before because she was in your head.>

“Oh, she saw it plenty,” Darla said. “But seriously, what’s the plan?”

Tanis gestured at the sprawling Sirian fleet. “That’s a hell of a formation. They’re not breaking into separate divisions or wings, just moving in all together. That means they have a high level of coordination. Central coordination.”

<Seems risky,> Jen said, Sera nodding along with her AI. <Who would do that with so many ships? Besides, they must have a plan for what happens if the lines of communication are broken.>

“Sirians are control freaks,” Tanis replied. “Their stupid corporate government breeds people who can’t relinquish control, and they love to micromanage. Trust me. We cut the head off, and everyone at the next level down will fight for dominance.”

<And if that doesn’t work to solve our problems?> Angela asked. <You know…since it won’t.>

Tanis shrugged. “Then we find the next person down the pecking order and take them out too. The chaos will give Carson’s fleet a chance to wear them down.”

She looked at the others, and Sera shrugged. “Sure, I’m in. Not like I had anything else planned.”

Darla nodded. “Pretty much the same here. I mean, chaos is my middle name.”

<I don’t have any better ideas, so why not.> Angela’s tone carried a sardonic note. <Plus, we can’t just go run and hide…right?>

<Right,> Jen said. <We even ran into bad guys out in the LMC.>

“Seriously?” Tanis shook her head in annoyance. “That was supposed to be our emergency ‘pull rip cord to eject’ location.”

“We’ll find another,” Sera said with a languid wink. “Or who knows, maybe we’ll win this, and we won’t need to run.”

“ ‘We’?” Tanis asked.

<Sera’s hitching her wagon to Jason’s…horse?> Jen paused. <I think I took a wrong turn with that metaphor.>

“So not the president of the Transcend anymore?”

“Nope,” Sera shook her head as she shifted the Grace O’Malley’s vector to align with the gate. “I gave that back to my father, and he gave it to Krissy. It’s like a family heirloom at this point.”

<Wait…your father?> Angela asked. <You mean the one that died on the Galadriel?>

“No.” Sera’s lips twisted in discomfort. “That was a clone as it turns out. My real father had been in stasis for some time out in the LMC.”

“Stars,” Tanis whispered. “This is going to take some time to sort through.”

“Let me know when you do,” Chief West said. “I still have yet to make sense of most of it.”

* * * * *

<Good luck,> Tangel said to Tanis and Angela a moment before the Grace O’Malley disappeared through the jump gate.

“Realigning,” Earnest said. “Still thinking Roma?”

“I am,” she replied. “Jessica is going to need our help.”

Finaeus glanced back at her. “What makes you think Jessica is the one running things at Roma?”

Tangel’s skin glowed brightly as she chuckled. “Let’s just call it intuition…really good intuition.”

“What’s our play once we get there?” Earnest asked. “Should we drop you off on Jessica’s flagship?”

“No,” Tangel tapped a finger against her chin before reaching back to pull her hair into a ponytail. “We’re going to find the AST’s flagship.”

Finaeus grinned. “The direct approach. I like it.”

The gate completed its minute adjustments to align with the fleet approaching Roma, and the ancient engineer moved them toward the ring before glancing back at her.

“Do you want to take the helm, Tangel?” he asked.

She braced her feet, crossing her arms. “I thought you’d never ask.”

She swiped a hand across the air before her, and a holointerface appeared. It wasn’t necessary for her to use one in order to fly the ship, but it was a comforting holdover.

The Starkiller closed the gap between its prow and the gate, and when the mirror on the ship touched the not-space in its center, space winked out for a moment before being replaced with the glare from a hundred thousand engines.

Tangel scanned the emission lines, looking for the enemy craft that was capable of moving to the fore, but holding back.

“There!” she pointed out one of the blocky AST dreadnoughts. “That’s their flagship.”

The two men shared an uncertain look.

“You sure?” Finaeus asked. “There are a hundred of those things in this formation.”

“That’s it,” Tangel replied with a nod. “Heading i—”

Then space erupted around them.

“Shields at max!” Finaeus shouted. “What the hell is this?”

Tangel looked through the hull, watching as the plasma stream below the formation shed electrons at an alarming rate, blasting energy in all directions as a chain-reaction built and amplified itself along Roma’s van allen belts.

Less than a second later, the belts snapped, and superheated plasma poured out toward the AST fleets on the spinward side of Roma, bathing them in hard and soft radiation.

“Well that’s impressive,” Finaeus said, shaking his head in disbelief. “I mean, not exactly recommended, but impressive.”

“I saw Symatra’s ship before it went off.” Earnest pulled up the AI’s vessel. “If she’s here, then she’ll have made sure they didn’t accidentally light up Roma.”

“Good,” Tangel said. “I can’t imagine its nearspace is evac’d.”

The EMP continued to roll through the black, small fusion detonations occurring in particularly dense pockets of gas, compressed further by the initial shockwave spreading out from the gas giant.

The Starkiller’s shields staved off the electromagnetic assault with ease, though the vessel did get bowled over a few times, Tangel not bothering to hold them on any particular course until the storm died down.

It took several minutes for the repeating bursts to die down—if the ship had been relying on fusion power generation, the vessel would have heated considerably from the shield draw. As it was, the Starkiller’s CriEns were barely strained, and when their power draw returned to normal, Tangel carefully brought the ship back on course, waiting for scan to update before making her move.

<Unknown ship, identify yourself.>

The call reached the ship a minute later, and Tangel saw the source of the message being tagged as from ‘Field Marshal Admiral Keller’.

<Quite the promotion there, Jessica,> she replied. <And quite the boom you just pulled off. Looks like you really did a number on the Heegs.>

The Carthage, where the call had originated, was six light seconds away, just passing Normandy, and she had to wait an excruciating fifteen total before Jessica’s gasping reply hit her mind.

<T-T-Tangel? How…you died! You died saving Joe and your daughters….>

<Not quite,> Tangel replied. <I had a little help from Earnest and Finaeus. They saved me, and then we went and saved Tanis and everyone on the Grace O’Malley from the core AIs. Now we’re saving you. Sort of a merry-go-round at this point.>

Laughter came back this time, several seconds before Jessica would have received Tangel’s full message. <I can’t wait to hear the details…and sorry we hammered you with our vacuum EMP.>

<Don’t worry, the guys built the Starkiller to last. I’ve identified one of the dreadnoughts as the AST flagship, and we’re going to take it out. We’ll create as much disarray as possible—be ready to take advantage of it.>

<How much can one little fighter cause?> Jessica asked.

Over the course of the conversation, scan had cleared, and Tangel had poured on the thrust, careening toward the enemy fleet while Earnest and Finaeus fired on the leading edge of enemy ships.

Only a few of the Heeg vessels had been destroyed by the EMP, their stasis shields protecting them nearly as well as the Starkiller’s. However, their reactors were maxed out, so when struck with the fighter’s antimatter beams, they fell within seconds.

“Like shooting fish in a barrel,” Finaeus said with a laugh as Tangel holed three AST destroyers in quick succession.

“You know that really wouldn’t work,” Earnest replied. “At any reasonably high velocity, water will affect a projectile or wave in a deleterious way.”

“Of course I do. I just like to mess with folks.”

“By spreading misinformation?” Earnest pressed.

The older man snorted. “Whatever, if they’re too du—”

“Guys,” Tangel spoke in a stern voice. “Really.”

Finaeus directed an annoyed look in her direction. “Well, you took over the ship and everything, so what are we supposed to do?”

Tangel crossed her arms, letting the Starkiller continue in a straight line. “You think you can do better?”

“Uh…Tangel?” Earnest pointed at a dreadnought directly in front of them, growing larger by the second on the main display.

“Yeah?” she glanced at him. “Are you worried I can’t fly this thing?”

“That’s not what I said.” Finaeus gripped his armrests. “And you know that touching stasis shields to another ship’s stasis shields is…uh…bad?”

“Very bad,” Earnest confirmed.

Tangel gave him a wide-eyed look. “Think so?”

“Shit!” Finaeus slammed a fist against his console. “That’ll be the last time we risk shredding the universe apart just to save you.”

At the last second, she shifted course, streaking across the dreadnought’s port side, plowing through a cloud of drones that had just emerged from the vessel. The Starkiller’s point defense beams destroyed a thousand of the small craft before they were in the clear once more, the ship easily avoiding the AST vessel’s retaliatory beams.

“OK…” Earnest drew in a slow breath. “Yeah, I couldn’t have managed that maneuver. Did you pre-program that or do it on the fly?”

“On the fly,” Tangel replied as she dove the ship down toward a group of destroyers that were breaking formation, headed for one of Roma’s smaller moons.

Antimatter beams tore into the ships, destroying them in seconds, before Tangel shifted again, streaking beneath the bulk of the AST fleet toward the dreadnought they’d identified as the one controlling the drones.

Finaeus still hadn’t spoken, and Tangel closed her eyes, drawing a transdimensional breath, bathing in fresh energy before turning to offer him a small smile.

“You’re right. I’m sorry. I get a bit myopic at times—especially when it comes to saving my people from threats. To say that I’m mightily pissed that the Heegs are making another play for New Canaan….”

The ancient engineer met her gaze. “I suppose that’s understandable.”

He still seemed upset, and she winked. “Don’t worry. I’ll return helm to you in a minute. Don’t break your toy once I’m gone.”

“Sorry?” Earnest asked. “Where are you going?”

Tangel pointed at the dreadnought now centered in the display. “There.”

She spun the fighter and fired the engines at max burn, blasting the dreadnought with a meter-wide beam of coherent gamma rays. The AST flagship’s shields flared brightly, annihilating the energy stream in a display that outshone every other light in the black.

A thousand klicks from the enemy ship, Tangel cut the engines and spun the Starkiller, closing the remaining distance at a sedate ten thousand kilometers per hour.

“Shit, its shields held,” Earnest whispered, his hands dancing across his console as he ran the numbers on the energy absorbed by the other ship. “The field should at least be measurably weakened…but it reads at max.”

“Answers my question,” Tangel replied. “They have CriEns on that ship.”

“Which means?” Finaeus pressed.

“There’s an ascended AI there. That’s one tech they seem just as keen as us to keep out of common use. No way they’d let some Heeg admiral fly around with it if they weren’t aboard as well.”

“What’s your—” Earnest fell silent as Tangel shed her three-dimensional shell, her body becoming an ephemeral tangle of light and strands of energy.

~Get ready to take the helm,~ she said to Finaeus.

He nodded silently, and Earnest reached out toward her. “Be careful. We just got you back.”

The way he said it raised a question in her mind.

~How far into the future did you go before you were able to travel back?~

“Too far,” Finaeus whispered.

~Understood.~ Another slow breath of energy. ~Mind if I take your spare CriEn?~

Earnest glanced at Finaeus, who shrugged. “Sure, but how are you going to get past the stasis field?”

Tangel fired the ship’s antimatter beams on a short burst, the annihilation of protons and antiprotons taking place centimeters from the enemy ship’s shields, overloading and disabling them across the vessel’s port flank. ~What shields?~

She gave the ship a small burst of speed and passed through the forward display and out the bow to perch on the Starkiller’s prow, waiting for the right moment.

They were three kilometers from the dreadnought—close enough to read Falmouth emblazoned on the hull, with a dozen large stars beneath the lettering—when she jumped.

Behind her, the fighter shifted course, peeling away from the larger ship while Tangel dove through space toward her target. She was still a hundred meters away when the stasis shield snapped back into place. The ascended being let out a string of curses in her mind.

It was theoretically possible for her to pass through the shield without dying—it would just involve burning away much of her body in the process.

~Guys, could—~

~Already on it,~ she heard Earnest respond.

The Starkiller was only a hundred kilometers away, and the small ship spun, fired a single antimatter beam, then banked toward Roma.

Light flared a kilometer aft of Tangel’s position, nearly blinding all her modes of vision. When sight came back, she was beyond the shield’s shell and meters from the hull. A glance back showed that the stasis field was back in place.

OK…that might have been a bit reckless.

Tangel checked the status of the CriEn she’d borrowed from the Starkiller. It was still tucked safely within her body, and she drew another breath of energy before phasing through the Falmouth’s hull and into the AST flagship.

Now for something even more reckless.

SEARCHERS IN THE DARK

STELLAR DATE: 05.28.8950 (Adjusted Years)

LOCATION: Roma Dive Platform

REGION: Roma, New Canaan System

“OK…we’re stabilized again.” Cary followed the words with a long sigh and sagged into her seat. “Next time I’m too impatient to just wait for rescue, can someone slap sense into me?”

“I volunteer,” Saanvi held up a hand. “I also think I should give you a practice slap right now.”

Cary leaned over. “I deserve it.”

Saanvi shook her head and withdrew her hand. “Well that takes all the fun out of it.”

“We need to get the platform back to its standard path,” Faleena advised. “Search parties are gonna need to know where to find us.”

Cary brought up what meager scan they could manage, augmenting that with her own vision. “Looks like we’re still a little over a thousand klicks to the south of where we started, I’ll start easing us back.”

“Uhh…what’s that?” Saanvi asked, pointing at the scan output on the forward display. “A meteor?”

“Slow-moving for a meteor,” Faleena replied. “Looks too regular. I think it might be a ship.”

A laugh slipped past Cary’s lips. “Just my luck. I risk our necks, and our ride shows up half an hour later.”

Faleena put a hand on her shoulder. “You didn’t know that.”

“Vector’s wrong, though,” Saanvi said. “For both our current location and where the platform should be.”

Cary turned to look in the direction the ship was approaching from. It was a hundred kilometers northeast of their position, and several hundred higher, but its engines were forcing away the clouds as it descended into Roma—for what reason, she was uncertain.

“Weird that they’re coming in on fusion burners,” Saanvi said. “Kind of a no-no in Roma.”

“At least we’re in a zone, not a band,” Faleena said. “Not nearly as much H3 here.”

“I think…” Cary’s voice trailed off. “Yeah, there are two ships, for sure. The burn profiles are definitely bigger than a S&R boat, too much for a corvette as well.”

Saanvi scowled. “So, what? They sent down a pair of destroyers to fetch us?”

“Somehow I doubt that,” Faleena replied. “Look at those spectral lines. ISF ships don’t burn like that.”

Cary ran an analysis on the console and nodded. “Yeah, and not TSF, either. At least not any we have on file.”

“I’d peg those as Inner Stars ships,” Saanvi said. “They’re always sloppy with their H3 burns.”

The three shared a worried set of glances as the ships continued to descend deeper into Roma.

“That’s not good,” Cary finally said.

A second later, scan went haywire as a blast of EM radiation hit the platform’s sensors, flooding them with noise.

“Brace!” Cary called out, able to see the shockwave approaching them through the bulkheads.

She lifted the side of the platform facing the cloud wall rushing toward them, hoping to get a lift from the blast, rather than be forced further down into Roma’s depths.

The platform’s leading edge barely rose a dozen meters before the blast slammed into it. The deck and bulkheads shook like a beast had them in its mouth, and the crack across the room widened further.

The surge only lasted a few seconds, smaller trembles following in its wake.

“Shit!” Saanvi spoke first. “One of the pads got ripped right off!”

“There’s a six-degree twist in the main spars as well,” Cary reported. “This thing’s taken a hell of a beating. I don’t know if it can handle….”

“What is it?” Saanvi demanded when Cary didn’t resume speaking.

The latter reached out and grabbed her sister’s arm, weaving a web of energy around them. “Hold on.”

* * * * *

“I’ve picked up the debris field,” Carl reported. “Not that it’s hard. Hot bits of AST ship spread across a few hundred klicks of nitrogen clouds tend to stand out.”

“What’s that?” Katrina asked, pointing at a larger heat blob. It was cooler than most of the debris field, but also large enough to be one of the destroyers. “Did we miss one?”

<Unlikely. The energy release from the impacts and explosions was consistent with two ships.>

“Could it be the dive platform?” Malorie asked.

“The what what?” Carl craned his neck looking back at the woman in her perch.

“Diiiiive plaaaaaaatfoooooorm.” She drew the words out with a mocking tone.

Carl pursed his lips, eyes shooting daggers.

“Can you elaborate?” Katrina asked, interjecting herself into what could easily turn into a fight. Malorie knew exactly how to rile Carl up, though she knew not to do it when important things were afoot—normally.

The spider-woman sighed. “You know that tower up on Normandy that got its top blown off?”

“Uh huh,” Katrina said, nodding slowly.

“Well, that was a planet-diving facility. There’s a platform down there that catches the divers.”

Carl shook his head, not looking back this time. “How do you know about that?”

“I was looking into booking a dive last time we were here.”

“Last time?” Katrina’s eyebrows reached for her hairline. “You mean when I was under compulsion to kill Tanis, and we were getting sucked into a war?”

“Yup! I mean, don’t forget there was a period when the ship was getting upgrades. There was almost enough time to get a dive in, but the shuttles weren’t running often enough.”

“But…but…” Carl stammered.

Katrina chuckled. “Let it go, Carl.”

<I’ve pulled up the relevant details,> Troy said, blessedly moving the conversation along. <Whatever that is down there, it’s not in the right location for the platform. We should get closer and take a look.>

“Very well,” Katrina checked her harness. “Take us in.”

Troy eased them though Roma’s storms with deliberate caution, taking care to avoid the worst of the storms and smaller bits of AST destroyer that were whipping past.

It wasn’t until they closed within fifty kilometers that the object was clear enough to make out, and even then, it took Katrina a few moments to identify.

“OK…that looks like most of a dive platform, with a chunk of a destroyer’s engine bell stuck in it.”

Carl nodded. “That’d be my assessment as well. “Should we get closer to check it for Heegs?”

“Why?” Malorie asked with a laugh. “We afraid they’re gonna launch an attack from there?”

<No, because it’s the humane thing to do.>

“Oh, yeah, that.”

“Plus, it would be interesting to learn what it’s doing here. Take us in, Troy,” Katrina ordered. “Let’s go fishing for Heegs in the deep.”

As they drew closer, it became clear that the platform had taken a beating. Judging by its configuration, two of its landing pads were missing, and a large hole had been punched through it, close to the center. A few hundred meters toward the far side, a sixty-meter section of a destroyer’s engine bell was lodged in the structure, likely hanging out the bottom as well.

“Canaanites sure build shit to last,” Kirb observed. “I can’t believe that thing is still flying.”

“Parts of it are still warm,” Katrina said. “Parts of it might even be aired up.”

<I can’t connect to their network.> Troy’s tone was grim. <Should we drop a few bots onto it to take a look around?>

“Yeah, we’re already down here, after all.” Katrina called down to Camille. <Can you get a few crawlers ready? We want to check over this wreck.>

<You got it, Captain.>

Katrina was about to direct Troy to get closer when a voice entered her mind.

~Katrina? Is that really you? What are you doing here?~

It took a few seconds of startlement to recognize the speaker as Cary.

~Uhhh…us? What are you doing down here? Testing to see if you have your mother’s luck?~

~We were diving and got stuck down here, then some sort of explosion hit us. If Cary hadn’t formed a protective shell, we’d be done for.~

For a moment, Katrina worried that Cary had made the ultimate sacrifice all because she’d fired RMs at enemy ships inside a planet’s atmosphere.

~No, don’t worry,~ Cary replied, her thoughts soothing Katrina. ~I’m fine, I didn’t have to absorb that much energy. Although, I think I can speak for all three of us when I say that we’d really like a ride out of here.~

~Lucky for you we’re in the taxi business today. Hold tight for just a few, and we’ll latch onto that shattered ruin you’re piloting.~

DEFENDING CARTHAGE

STELLAR DATE: 05.28.8950 (Adjusted Years)

LOCATION: Grace O’ Malley, 1 AU from Carthage

REGION: New Canaan System

“Welcome to another day in the shit,” Sera said as the Grace O’Malley appeared an AU from Carthage, between the approaching Sirian armada and Carson’s fleet.

Chief West laughed. “Why change now?”

“That’s a lot of ships,” Tanis whispered. “And they all have stasis?”

Darla shrugged. “Probably. Or most. Enough that it makes no matter.”

<What are we going to do about a million ships?> Angela sounded worried…almost scared.

<We’ll do what we’ve been doing all along,> Jen replied. <Fight our asses off. So far, it’s been really successful.>

A short chuckle slipped past Tanis’s lips. “Good to know you haven’t lost your sense of humor.”

<It’s pretty much a survival trait at this point.>

Tanis turned to Darla. “Do you have any brilliant ideas? You always were the one with a day-saving plan tucked up your sleeve.”

<Amongst other things,> Angela added.

“Against stasis shields?” The ancient AI’s brows rose, and she shrugged. “Only thing that I’ve seen work is Finaeus and Earnest’s antimatter beam. How they managed to make that work under combat conditions is something I’d very much like to learn more about.”

Angela signaled agreement. <Me too.>

<We’re picking up a databurst,> Jen said. <It’s directed to Admiral Carson.>

“Who from?” Tanis asked, pulling up the stream on her console in time to answer her own question. “Well, shit…it’s from Field Marshal Keller.”

Sera barked a laugh. “First I’m the Transcend’s president, then Jessica becomes the Field Marshal. What’s next?”

“You wouldn’t believe me if I told you,” Darla said, a short laugh following her words.

Tanis’s head snapped around. <I know that laugh,> she said privately. <What aren’t you telling us?>

<It can keep,> Darla replied. <Let’s focus on surviving this for now.>

She gave her former AI partner a measuring look and then nodded. <Very well, but I’m not forgetting that.>

<Me either,> Angela said.

Darla gave a noncommittal shrug and appeared to be about to speak, when Sera slammed a fist into her console.

“Of course! Starfire!”

“You mean beams?” Tanis asked, cocking her head as she wondered how that could help. Carson was already using beams against the Sirian ships to little effect.

“No,” Sera shook her head. “Neutronium bullets from Star City. Looks like Joe and Jessica used them in the Kap a week ago.”

Tanis pulled up the relevant data in Jessica’s burst and shook her head in amazement. “Relativistic neutronium grapeshot. That’s….”

<Ridiculous,> Angela supplied. <We’ll have to shut down the interdiction field, though.>

Tanis nodded. “Sera, get us close to Carson’s ship, we need to get him to make a call on the QC network.”

Sera nodded. “That we do. Everyone, hold onto your asses. Let’s show these Sirians what Grace can do.”

Forcing herself not to ask to take the helm, Tanis found herself impressed with Sera’s skill. Most of the time she’d been with the other woman aboard a smaller ship, Cheeky had been piloting, but it was clear that it wasn’t due to an inability on Sera’s part.

“You gonna fire beams or something?” the other woman asked as she slipped past a formation of corvettes that turned to follow them. “I mean, unless you’re just so caught up in marveling at my abilities.”

“Uhh…sure,” Tanis replied. “I can pew-pew some baddies. For whatever good it’ll do.”

“Those corvettes won’t hold up long,” Darla tagged another group they were approaching. “Their reactors can probably barely manage a stasis field as it is.”

Tanis nodded and fired the Grace O’Malley’s forward beams at one of the smaller Sirian ships, following up with a trio of rail slugs.

The enemy’s shields weathered the beams and first two rail shots, but the third one got through, taking out one of the ship’s engines.

She followed up with another few shots, but the vessel’s stasis shields were back up.

“Well, that was something,” she said as the Grace flew past, still picking up speed.

<We’re within a light second of Carson’s ship,> Angela said. <You talk, I want to use the big guns.>

Tanis turned over the weapons control to her AI and singled out Carson’s flagship, the Daring Strike, establishing a tightbeam as best she could.

A return came from the vessel, and Carson’s voice followed moments later. <Sera! How did you make it here? Did you find Tanis?>

<Starting with your last, the answer is yes,> Tanis replied. <As for our myriad adventures, they can wait.>

<Shit! Tanis! It’s you!>

She couldn’t help but laugh at the raw enthusiasm in his voice. <It is, in the flesh, Angela is here too, but she’s doing the shooting.>

<I can walk and chew gum,> Angela interjected before returning to her task.

<I never doubted it,> Carson said. <I assume you’re calling to do more than say ‘hi’?>

<I am. I just saw in Jessica’s databurst that we can get Star City to fire on these assholes.>

<I did too,> the admiral replied. <But we’ll have to shut down the interdiction field.>

<Then we shut it down,> Tanis said. <We already have a million Sirian ships closing on Carthage. If they reach our worlds, it won’t matter how many more enemies jump in.>

There was a brief pause, then, <OK. I’m relaying your orders.>

<Good. How long will it take you to disengage from the Sirians?>

<Twenty minutes? Maybe more.>

<Good. Coordinate that timing with Star City.>

<You got it,> Carson said. <What are you going to do?>

Tanis laughed. <Get clear and dock with your ship.>

“Could I suggest something different?” Darla said.

“You eavesdropping on me?”

The AI shrugged. “Old habits and all that. Anyway, those Sirian carriers have AI clusters that run some large drone swarms.”

<Ideal targets, then, it seems,> Angela said.

“For us to seize and control,” Darla replied. “With the three of us controlling swarms, we could do a lot of damage.”

“So…after the starfire?” Tanis asked.

“Yeah.” Darla dropped markers on two of the carriers. “Pass orders to Carson to avoid these ships. We’ll take them and use ‘em to mop things up.”

“Exactly who is going to take them?” Sera asked. “There are probably ten thousand Sirians on those things…and that’s a low-ball.”

“You’re right,” Darla tapped a finger to her chin. “We’ll need help.”

<You’re in luck, then,> Angela replied. <Because Usef has an entire battalion of ISF Marines on Carson’s fleet.>

“Battalion?” Tanis asked, brows rising in appreciation. “Been a while since I’ve had an entire battalion of Marines at my beck and call.”

Sera snorted as she brought the Grace O’Malley around the Sirian fleet, still keeping pace with the enemy ships, but ensuring that they were out of the starfire’s trajectory. “Always the Marines with you. Might as well be talking about your legionnaires with lingo that old.”

“Shit,” Tanis muttered, shaking her head in disbelief. “I was born closer to the age of Roman legions than to now. That’s a bit of a mind-bender.”

<You’ll get over it,> Angela replied. <I’ve got General Usef on the Link, if you want to talk to him about, you know, the war and stuff.>

Tanis sighed. <You’re such a buzzkill, Angela. Wait. General?>

<Yup, general—and also, ‘Buzzkill’ is my middle name. Always keeping you on task. Now do productive stuff.>

<Usef,> Tanis said, accepting the connection that Angela passed to her. <Glad to hear that you’re still out in the black, taking care of things.>

<Nowhere else to be, ma’am.>

<I take it the mission aboard Sabrina was a success?>

An amused grunt came back across the Link. <I don’t exactly know how one would describe things with that team as ‘successful’ as opposed to ‘met objectives’.>

<OK.> Tanis laughed as she imagined the hijinks Usef had likely been subjected to. <I can see how you’d make that distinction.>

<I have to say, ma’am, as much as I like the other version of you, it’s really nice to have you and Angela back. I take it you don’t remember much since Thebes?>

<Thank you, and no. Tangel left details of all the events in a datastore, but it’s a lot to absorb, and I haven’t had a lot of downtime to soak it up. Either way, we need to focus on the present. Starfire is coming from Star City, and we need to take three of the dreadnoughts so we can control their drone fleets.>

<Three of the dreadnoughts protected by stasis shields?> he asked.

Tanis let out an audible sigh. <Yup, those’d be the ones.>

<You have a plan for getting past them, or should we just knock and ask nicely?>

Angela snorted. <There’s the real Usef. You were being far too polite.>

<Gotta be on my best behavior for the big brass.>

<Don’t hold back on my account,> Tanis said. <I’m hopeful that they’ll get tagged by just enough grapeshot to lose shields, but if not, we’ll have to hit them with something a little bit more powerful.>

<More powerful than relativistic degenerate matter?> the Marine general asked.

<I mean…kinetically, maybe not. But more effective against stasis shields.>

Usef didn’t respond for a few seconds, then the mental approximation of a cough came across the Link. <This is where you tell me what it is.>

<Sorry, I was waiting for you to guess or something.>

Angela laughed. <Are you feeling alright, Tanis?>

<How in all the stars would I know? Either way, it’s antimatter, Usef. We’ll use antimatter RMs to crack their shields, then we’ll head in and take their drone control centers.>

<OK…and what do we do with them once we have them?>

<Control their drones, Usef. Mop things up,> Tanis replied. <I’ll hit one of the ships, Darla will hit the other, and Sera will take the third—can you spare a company for each of us?>

<Of course, and I’ll be sure to join you, Tanis.>

Usef’s mental tone contained an extra measure of ‘no nonsense’, and she wondered why he’d insist on that. Granted, between the three teams, she was more likely to draw additional enemy attention.

<OK. Angela is plotting approach vectors. We’ll meet up with you so Sera can drop everyone off with their teams.>

Fifteen minutes later, Tanis was pushing through an umbilical to the Raging Taurus, the destroyer holding Alpha Company and Usef’s small HQ company.

<You be careful,> Sera admonished. <I didn’t just race across the galaxy to rescue you only for you to die at the hands of some Sirian goons.>

Tanis heaved a sigh as she reached the Taurus’s airlock. <I hear you. I didn’t just figuratively come back from the dead to die again. Don’t worry, I’ll stay alive. I promise.>

<And un-captured. I forbid you to be captured.>

<Yes, Mom.>

<Oh gawd,> Sera exclaimed as the outer door sealed. <No need to get insulting. Just….>

<Good luck, Sera,> Tanis said. <And to you too, Darla.>

<I don’t need luck.> Darla’s reply was accompanied by a cock-sure snort. <I’ve got mad skill.>

Angela barked a laugh, and then the Grace O’Malley moved away, breaking Link connection.

A moment later, the inner airlock door opened to reveal Usef’s massive form blocking the way into the ship. A smile worked its way across his lips, and he held out a hand. “Glad to have you aboard, Admiral Richards.”

“Oh, enough of all that,” Tanis exclaimed as she took a step forward and wrapped her arms around the man. “It’s so good to see you. And a general.”

“Thanks, I hate it.” Usef’s voice was a total deadpan, but when she stepped back, the smile remained firmly in place.

“This does not surprise me in the least. Who would do such a terrible thing?”

Usef’s eyes narrowed. “Jessica. Could have been worse. She could have made me an admiral like Carson. However, then I would have had to kill her, so I suspect she made her decision knowing that.”

Tanis clapped a hand on his shoulder. “Glad you haven’t changed—and that you survived your stint with Jessica aboard Sabrina.”

He turned and gestured down the passage. “Ask her about the glitter cannons sometime.”

“Do I really want to know?”

“Absolutely.”

It only took a minute to reach the bridge, and when they did, Tanis found herself immediately feeling at home in the familiar layout and surroundings of an ISF command center.

“Admiral on the bridge!” the OOW called out, and the entire crew rose to their feet, saluting in unison.

She drew herself up and returned the honorarium. After a moment where they remained at attention, she sighed. “OK, OK, people, you’ve all seen me before. Nothing special here.”

They all smiled and returned to their seats and their work while Tanis strode to the holotank where a man she recognized as Captain Amari stood.

“Captain,” she nodded. “Thanks for lending us your ship.”

“As if I would have surrendered the honor to anyone else, ma’am,” he said.

Usef rolled his eyes, but the captain ignored him. Clearly, the two had a history.

“Are you ready to make the run?” Tanis asked.

“Absolutely, ma’am. We’ve run a full scan of our target, an AST-style Sirian dreadnought cleverly named Lightbringer. Per your instructions, we’re prepared to use an antimatter warhead on their shields to make a breach to get you and the Marines onto their hull.”

<I’m working with the engineers to alter the antimatter detonation to function like Earnest’s AM beams,> Angela added. <It should work. We’ll keep a spare missile ready in case it takes another.>

“Any issues utilizing antimatter?” Tanis asked the captain.

“None, Admiral Richards.” Captain Amari added a single, vehement shake of his head. “Everyone here is ready to end this damn war already. The fact that we’re fighting Sirians again…well, it might even sweeten the pot a bit.”

“Good,” Tanis replied. “I feel the same way, and I haven’t even been fighting them for half as long as you. Either way, it’s either this, or we say goodbye to our worlds.” Her gaze swept the bridge. “Not that any of you need me to remind you of what the stakes are.”

The was met by serious looks and grim nods.

“This ends here,” Usef said. “Well, at least the war with Sirius. Now that we hold their system, this is the last play they have.”

“One they’ll fail at,” Tanis growled. “If I have anything to do with it, at least…which I do.”

“Ooh-rah,” Usef said in a soft voice. “It’s as good as done.”

Tanis glanced at the holotank showing the location of the Sirian fleet, the Raging Taurus, and the rest of Carson’s ships. The Lightbringer was situated roughly three hundred thousand kilometers from the starward edge of the enemy formation. The other two targets were similarly positioned, one at the fore and one on the rimward side of the Sirian battlegroup.

Several other destroyers were moving into support positions, ready to draw fire and confuse the enemy when the three destroyers made their runs on the enemy dreadnoughts.

“Four minutes to starfire,” the comm officer announced.

“I’d better get armored up,” Tanis said, giving Usef a nod for him to lead the way.

“Of course,” he said, and she followed him off the bridge.

At the room’s exit, she turned and surveyed the bridge crew. “Good luck. Make New Canaan proud.”

The ship’s upper passages were eerily empty, but when they got off the lift on the main docking bay’s deck, it was like they’d transported to an entirely different vessel. Teams of Marines were dashing down the passage in both directions, the ones headed toward the bay carrying an assortment of heavy weapons, while those moving the other way only carried their standard weapons.

“Going in for bear?” Tanis asked the general.

“I figured once you took control of their drones, you wouldn’t want to be interrupted.”

She nodded as they joined the flow of Marines moving toward the armory. “You’d be right.”

Inside the room, a gunnery sergeant was bellowing at the Marines, hollering a string of curses mixed with directions that seemed to have the men and women under his direction moving with concise action.

It was some sort of special power bestowed on gunneys that they could manage any volume of troops, and keep everyone on task at all times—something that even she had never mastered with the same level of proficiency.

She nodded to him, and the man gestured toward one of the armoring racks.

“All you, ma’am. Got it set up with your preferred loadout.”

Tanis wondered if that was weaponry she was accustomed to, or something that Tangel had taken to using. It was strange to consider that, until very recently, the body that housed her and Angela had been Tangel’s. That to the people all around, her face was the same, but functionally, they were different beings.

Would everyone else make that same distinction, or would that be a thing that haunted only her?

Despite the gunnery sergeant’s words, she looked over the loadout and saw that it was light stealth armor, upgraded from what she’d become accustomed to before Thebes, with two multi-function rifles, a pair of lightwands, and a slepton gun.

It was a heavier loadout than she was accustomed to taking, but the improved stealth ratings on the gear meant that she could carry more ordnance without risk of detection.

<Not sure why you’re thinking stealth,> Angela said. <You’re boarding that tub with a hundred and fifty Marines. They tend to make some noise.>

<Sure, but you never know when you might need to slip away to get something done.>

<You planning on going shopping?> Angela asked with a laugh.

<Maybe…I imagine that a dreadnought this large could have a nice commissary. Maybe I could pick up a present for Joe.>

<I think you’ll be present enough.>

<Both of us,> Tanis corrected the AI, as her body was encased in protective layers. <He’ll be happy to see you too. As will the girls, I imagine. You always had a special bond with them.>

Angela laughed. <Ah, the shenanigans we used to get up to.>

<I don’t want to know.>

<No, you really don’t.>

Less than a minute later, the machine completed its task, and Tanis grabbed a helmet off the rack and slotted it into place while Usef checked over her armor and gear.

“Looks good,” his voice rumbling out of his armor’s speakers. “You ready for this?”

“Do you have to ask?”

He fixed her a level stare. “Yes.”

“And ‘yes’ is my answer,” Tanis replied. “Let’s get to the bay. I want to watch with my own eyes as the Sirians get smashed.”

The general nodded, switching to the Link to say, <Bloodthirsty. I like it.>

<You know how it is when my den is attacked and my cubs are inside,> she replied.

<Do we ever,> Angela said. <You go all momma bear.>

<You better believe it.>

Only a few Marines moved through the passages now, a final smattering hauling a pair of rather large crew-served proton cannons.

<Think we’ll need those?> she asked the large man beside her.

<Yes.>

Inside the bay, most of the Marines were formed up by fireteams and squads, ready to jump when the time came. On the far side of the space were two massive mechs, surrounded by a few relatively smaller figures, all armed to the teeth. Upon closer inspection, Tanis realized that the she was looking at non-ISF cyborg warriors of some sort.

<Who are they?> she asked, gesturing in the mechs’ direction.

<A squad of Rika’s Marauders that got stuck on one of Carson’s ships when they evac’d out of Genevia,> Usef replied. <We were going to get them on their way back, but when they heard we were doing a mission with you, I couldn’t keep them from joining in.>

<Rika?> Tanis asked. <Who—>

She was stopped short by a memory of a tall, young woman, a mech like those across the bay. Despite not really remembering much of her, an instant kinship formed in her mind.

<Well…that was intense,> Angela commented. <I guess she means a lot to us.>

<You got that too?> Tanis asked. <That memory of Rika?>

<I did, I checked the data Tangel left us, and that’s her. I guess they formed an almost….>

<Mother-daughter relationship.>

<Yeah…that.>

Tanis heaved a sigh. Despite missing out on less than two years’ worth of events, it was proving harder to adapt to the changes than her prior leap across millennia.

As they’d talked, Usef led Tanis and Angela to the front of the bay where the companies’ command staff had assembled to watch the incoming lightshow.

They drew up to attention at her approach, and she returned the salutes, then nodded to the million twinkling lights from the Sirian engines burning in the black.

“Everyone ready for the show?” she asked.

“More than,” Commander Miriam said. “Been looking forward to this sort of payback since I was a kid in Landfall, watching those engines bear down on us.”

Tanis checked the woman’s background, not surprised to see that she was a descendant of the Noctus refugees. Many of the ones who had joined up with the Intrepid had found their way into the ISF.

“A day I’ll never forget,” Tanis replied. “They didn’t win then, and they won’t win today. Disappointing Lucents is a specialty of mine.” She glanced back at the Marines, every one of them deadly still at this point. “Of all ours.”

“Yes, ma’am,” Miriam’s voice held an eager edge. “One last fight with these bastards.”

The woman’s sentiment echoed her own prior words, and Tanis found herself smiling in response. “Last dance with Sirius.”

“Rounds incoming,” Captain Amari’s voice came over the ship’s 1MC, the words barely echoing in the bay, soundwaves absorbed by the bodies arrayed inside.

The words barely had time to register before brilliant flares of light began to ignite in the void, the first few impacts outshining the million engines—the light of which already outshone Canaan Prime.

Her helmet’s visor grew opaque as more and more of Star City’s neutronium pellets struck stasis shields, each ultra-dense ball of matter hitting with the force of a small planet.

Several of the smaller enemy vessels instantly evaporated under the impacts, not even stasis shields managing to protect them. Larger ships weathered the blows, but the kinetic force shoved them as far as a light second in the blink of an eye.

Any ships without the ability to go full-bubble would see their crews dead under such extreme levels of acceleration, regardless of whether or not their stasis shields held.

Some of the larger ships handled glancing blows well enough that they were only pushed a few thousand kilometers off course, and still more turned into the barrage, hoping that their own forward momentum would lessen the force imparted on the delicate organics within.

<Over a tenth of their ships are already disabled,> Angela reported as the enemy fleet began to disperse, many changing course to re-engage with Carson’s ships, the relative safety of the ISF fleet at least meaning they were out of the path of destruction caused by the neutronium.

Four minutes later, the barrage stopped, and Usef shook his head. <I really hope that barrage travels to the edge of the universe without hitting anyone else.>

Tanis pursed her lips and gave a solemn nod. The thought had occurred to her as well, but there was little that could be done about it. They had to consider their own survival against the astronomically low odds that any other lifeform would ever be in the path of the neutronium pellets.

<We’re moving in,> Captain Amari informed Tanis as the ship changed course, angling toward the Lightbringer, which had opted to dive below the grapeshot.

A dozen other enemy ships were in close formation around it, three of which had taken damage from the starfire.

Scattered beams splashed against the Raging Taurus’s shields as the destroyer closed with the much larger ship and its escort. Other ISF destroyers and a lone cruiser joined in, each zeroing in on a different target in order to draw their fire while the Taurus continued on a direct path toward its foe.

The dreadnought’s captain must have decided that the five-hundred-meter hull approaching with his behemoth must have some sort of nefarious intent, as the enemy ship’s rails came about and began flinging tungsten slugs at the Taurus.

Amari’s pilot deftly jinked the ship, avoiding the kinetic weapons, though taking increasing amounts of beamfire.

<Looks like its stasis shields are holding,> Angela said. <Though they must be running the batts dry with that amount of fire.>

<Maybe they think we’re on a suicide run,> Tanis commented.

<We kinda are, aren’t we?>

<Hell no. I expect to survive this. You’d better as well.>

The AI in her head laughed. <You worried Sera will come kick your ass if you die?>

<Or that Finaeus and Earnest will show up to save us from future us’s dumb choices.> Tanis laughed aloud at the thought. <I guess future us is always at risk of making dumb choices.>

<So, antimatter warhead?>

<Yeah.> She reached out to Captain Amari. <Looks like we’re going to need the big boom.>

<Seems so,> he replied. <On your authorization.>

<You have it. Fire when ready.>

<Yes, Admiral.>

The ship’s command net showed the missile launch, the weapon speeding through the irradiated black, jinking wildly on its collision course with the dreadnought.

The enemy ship switched its focus to the missile, but the Raging Taurus issued a full barrage of beamfire, forcing the enemy ship to keep its shields up tight so as not to let any weapons fire through.

I would have taken the hits to shoot down a lone missile coming my way, Tanis thought. No way does that sort of thing bode well.

The ISF destroyer was hot on its warhead’s tail, far closer than anyone wanted to be to an antimatter detonation; close enough that, should things go wrong, there was a strong chance the two vessels would collide.

With active stasis shields.

Luckily, there wasn’t enough time to worry about what might go wrong, as the blast of an antimatter detonation washed out the view of space for several long seconds, and then the destroyer turned and decelerated hard.

<Look sharp!> Commander Miriam called out to her troops.

<The second your HUD shows green, you jump for enemy hull, you sorry bastards!> the gunnery sergeant added.

Tanis hid a smile. Nothing quite beat getting that special kind of gunny encouragement.

She barely had time for a three-count before the dark grey of the Lightbringer’s hull came into view. It was less than a hundred meters away, and a second later, Marines started flinging themselves out of the bay and into the black.

Usef gave Tanis a look that she took as a warning.

<Don’t worry,> she assured him. <I’m not going to screw up the deployment order. I can wait.>

<Just don’t wait too long,> Angela said. <We need to get over there before the Lightbringer gets its shields back up.>

The Marines didn’t waste any time, and in thirty seconds, the first ISF boots hit the dreadnought’s hull. Surface emplacements began to fire on the troops, but the destroyer responded with its own fire, burning away the other ship’s weaponry, its own grav shield weathering any attacks thrown its way.

<We’re up,> Usef said as the company HQ jumped into the black.

Tanis took three quick steps and then flung herself into the void, boosters on her calves propelling her forward. She glanced over her shoulder to see the last few squads follow after, and then the Raging Taurus began to ease away, its bay doors closing.

<No turning back now,> Angela commented. <So, do we hit the Sirians’ commissary now, or after we take the drone controls?>

UPDATE

STELLAR DATE: 05.28.8950 (Adjusted Years)

LOCATION: ISS I2

REGION: Carthage, New Canaan System

The shuttle touched down in the I2’s forward dock, and Joe was out the door and on the ship’s deck before the docking clamps had latched on.

<Bob, where are they now?> he demanded.

<Tangel has boarded one of the AST dreadnoughts near Roma, and Tanis—Tanis just called in grapeshot from Star City to hit the Sirians. She’s requesting that the interdiction field be lowered.>

<Do it,> Joe responded. <Let’s hit those fuckers with everything we’ve got.>

<There are risks.>

Joe hopped in a vacant dockcar and drove it across the bay to where a lift bank stood. <I’m aware. I’m sure Tanis is as well. Are we relaying the order?>

<I already did. I’ll coordinate with Carson to ensure he is clear before Star City fires.>

Lips pursed, Joe gave a resolute nod. “That won’t finish them off, though, just thin their ranks.”

<That’ll be sufficient, if she does what I expect her to,> Bob responded to Joe’s vocal statement.

<Which is?> he asked, switching back to the Link.

<Well, the Sirians have all of those drones, and it takes an AI to operate them.>

Joe frowned as he got off the dockcar and stepped into the waiting lift. <But Tanis is just Tanis now.>

<Exactly. This sort of mass control is a skill that she and Angela have honed quite well.>

<Won’t they….>

<No. I doubt it very much. Hold a moment.>

Joe stared at the lift’s level indicator, willing it to go faster as he waited for Bob to continue.

He was about to press the AI for details, when Bob whistled.

<Katrina has reported in.>

<Tell me!>

The lift doors opened as he spoke, and from the terrified expression of the rating standing outside, he’d bellowed the word aloud as well.

<She’s safe. Katrina rescued them. They’re headed to the Carthage.>

“Fuuuuuck.” Joe breathed the word after giving the rating an apologetic nod and striding away. “It never rains, but it pours.”

<Oh, how it pours.>

He was a little surprised by the exclamation from Bob. The AI’s tone contained the slightest hint of concern, something that was not commonly heard.

I can’t actually recall the last time.

A minute later, Joe was walking down the ship’s administrative corridor where he was afforded a dozen salutes before he reached the I2’s bridge foyer.

“Good to see you, Admiral,” Alyse said.

“You too, Alyse.” He managed a smile that seemed almost genuine as he continued on to the bridge.

The hope that his family could finally be united after all these months was building in the back of his mind, but he refused to fully acknowledge it, lest some calamity strike and pull them apart again.

I trust not to hope…or whatever that saying is.

“Admiral on the bridge!” the OOW, a major, called out as he stepped into the space.

“Where’s Captain Rachel?” Joe asked.

“In her ready room,” the OIC replied. “We’ve got things just about cleaned up in Carthage’s nearspace, so I think she’s coordinating the next steps with the home fleet.”

Joe thanked the major and strode across the bridge to Rachel’s office. He knocked once on the door, which slid wide before he could announce himself.

“I appreciate the gesture, Admiral Evans,” Rachel said while rising from her desk and walking toward him. “But right now, I don’t think we need to stand on ceremony.”

“Some days it’s all we have,” he replied. “But I appreciate the leniency.”

Rachel laughed. “Who would have thought this day would come, when you seek audience with me?”

“Let’s not get so formal as that,” he replied, a laugh nearly slipping past his own lips. “You’re in high spirits, given what’s happening out there.”

“Sir…we have Tanis and Angela back, and not only that, Tangel is here too! Throw in Sera and the boys, and we’ve got a dream team coming to our aid.”

Her ongoing enthusiasm was more contagious than Joe expected, and he caught himself smiling. “I suppose you have a point. Aside from a massive Transcend force coming to rescue us, I can’t think of anything better.”

“My thought exactly.”

“So what’s the plan?” Joe asked. “Looks like we’ve dealt with the advance forces, and Tanis intends to hammer the Sirians.”

“I heard about that,” Rachel said with a nod. “We still have that other group of visitors coming—that rebel group from the Transcend.”

“Led by Andrea.” Joe’s lips twisted as he recalled his first interaction with Sera’s older sister. The woman had been a viper then, and he could see no reason why that wouldn’t still be the case.

“Yeah, our old friend.” Rachel made a gesture, and a holodisplay activated on the bulkhead, showing the inbound vessels. “There are a smattering of ships with stasis shields, probably ten thousand from what Scan can ascertain.”

“Shit,” Joe shook his head. “How so many?”

“Looks like she managed to get an entire division of TSF ships to switch sides. Why she’s aligned with the Heegs, we can’t say. Maybe it’s her last viable play. Get a big win, then build more support for her claim on the Transcend.”

“What an idiot,” Joe muttered. “We’re all fighting for survival, and she’s still chasing baubles.”

A VIEW FROM THE DARK

STELLAR DATE: 05.28.8950 (Adjusted Years)

LOCATION: Duskfinder

REGION: Near Carthage, New Canaan System

Chikora Drawas watched from his vantage point aboard the Duskfinder as the Hegemony and its allies engaged New Canaan’s defenders. His expression, were an observer a transdimensional being capable of reading it, was both implacable and calm.

Despite the crude tools at his disposal—namely Inner Stars fleets—there was no doubt in Chikora’s mind that their combined assault would see the end of the Intrepid’s colony. The victory was unlikely to be complete—such a thing was impossible so long as the one known as Bob retained the I2 as his body—but it would be enough to break the enemy’s spirit.

And perhaps, with luck, it also would see the end of Tangel.

The thought drew the being’s attention to the Falmouth and those who waited within. Too many times, others had underestimated Tangel—not to mention the determination of Bob to protect her—but this time, her keeper could not abandon his post at Carthage to save her. Even if he did, the trap that awaited Tangel was beyond the neophyte’s meager abilities.

Many of Chikora’s fellow Caretakers—those who had sided with Epsilon, at least—had believed Tangel dead at New Earth, but he had never accepted that it would be so easy. The evidence of her presence at the core several weeks ago was tenuous, but it was sufficient for him.

No random chance or shadowy machinations would defeat her; it would take direct action.

But Tangel was not his only concern. There was another who could fulfill the role she was meant for, the once-woman’s scion, Cary.

Chikora would not consider his mission to New Canaan a success so long as either the mother or daughter lived.

PICK YOUR TARGETS

STELLAR DATE: 05.28.8950 (Adjusted Years)

LOCATION: TSS Regent Mary

REGION: Roma, New Canaan System

“I’d certainly like to know who gave these bastards stasis shields,” Krissy muttered as the Regent Mary hammered away at an enemy cruiser, both ships effectively broadsiding one another in an attempt to force the other’s reactor to overheat first.

It wouldn’t be a risky contest except for the fact that half a dozen other AST ships were tagging the Mary with their beams from across the black.

Krissy’s fleet had come in behind the enemy formations, and the delta-v between the fleets was only a few kilometers per second at this point. That limited the effectiveness of jinking, so despite having CriEns, the Transcend fleet was taking a beating from the AST ships.

She had wanted to bring several additional divisions, but her mother had forbidden it, stating that she didn’t want to open up weaknesses elsewhere. As a result, over a hundred thousand ships were stationed at Styx and Airtha while the ships approaching Roma struggled to survive the enemy onslaught.

“This is all New Canaan’s fault,” Elle muttered, shaking her head in disgust. “Until they arrived, the Inner Stars were well in hand. Now look at them…disruptive tech is everywhere. Jump gates, stasis shields. It’s only a matter of time until they develop CriEn modules. At that point, their warships will be on par with ours.”

Krissy wanted to remind Elle that the real problem stemmed from the Transcend and Orion warring for thousands of years. If they’d been unified, the galaxy would be at peace—or at least, humans and AIs would be. The core AIs were another story.

“Then we’ll just have to be sure that we end the war here,” Krissy said. “Crush the Hegemony so thoroughly that they’ll never rise up again.”

“I’m not sure that’s our adversary’s plan,” Elle replied.

<Adversary?> Krissy asked privately. <Who do you mean?>

There were times when things got rather confusing. Who exactly they were fighting for and against seemed to shift constantly. Lisa Wrentham had told her that Tanis must be killed, but Elle spoke of using their alliance to defeat the Hegemony.

She knew they were the same person, but what they said aloud and what they said in private was so different, it was a little hard to keep it straight.

Of course, when that indecision came over her, she found herself unable to speak aloud, and had to get Elle to provide direction.

<Tanis, New Canaan, of course,> Lisa Wrentham said. <My words when I speak as Elle are just a smokescreen. Pay them little heed.>

<Of course, Mother. I’ll do my best.>

Elle reached out and placed a hand on Krissy’s shoulder while Lisa said, <I know you will.>

Krissy turned her focus back to the battle, her ships’ captains having taken out the cruiser that they’d been engaged with, falling back in the Transcend fleet’s ranks to shed heat and let their batts recharge.

Of the five enemy divisions that were moving past Roma, only two were being engaged. The others had a straight shot on to Carthage ahead of them, though two ISF fleets awaited their arrival.

Not that it would do a lot of good; with the Sirians and rogue Transcend ships approaching on separate vectors, she couldn’t see how the people of New Canaan would survive.

The orders almost left her lips to call in her reserve forces, to bring hundreds of thousands of ships from across the Transcend to New Canaan’s aid, but she wasn’t able to force the words.

I can’t go against Mother’s wishes.

“Move us further back,” Elle directed Krissy. “I don’t want you to risk yourself. The Transcend needs you.”

“Yes,” Krissy said woodenly. “The Transcend must persevere.”

BREACH

STELLAR DATE: 05.28.8950 (Adjusted Years)

LOCATION: HSS Falmouth

REGION: Roma, New Canaan System

Tangel passed through layers of hull, carefully shifting matter around herself and the CriEn module until she ‘stood’ within a passage amidships.

Her goal was to find the chamber where the enslaved SAIs were guiding the drone fleets and set them free, but she suspected there would be other concerns.

The databurst from Jessica had told of a caretaker protecting the facility on Brilliance Station. She had no reason to believe that more wouldn’t be here. The fact that the core AIs—or at least, some of them—were actively working with the Hegemony rather than guiding from the shadows was both encouraging and concerning at the same time.

It meant they knew that defeat was imminent, but at the same time, they were desperate. Desperate people did desperate things, and those sorts of things were rather difficult to plan for, let alone counter.

She reached out with her mind, peering through the ship while also connecting to its network, looking for a node chamber large enough to contain the SAI cores and their defenders.

A quick search revealed that there were several, and all had enough data moving in and out to be her target.

“What the—!”

Tangel turned to see a pair of AST soldiers standing a few meters away, and she carefully coalesced back into human form. “Excuse me?”

She kept her tone sharp, exerting authority and control, hoping that the other ascended AIs aboard had made their presence known, and that she’d appear to be no different.

“Uhh…sorry,” one of the men said. “I thought all of your…uh…people were down on deck eleven.”

“Are you telling me where I’m allowed to go?” Tangel asked. “Do you think I take orders from you?”

“No, no! Not at all, I just…uh.”

“Shut up,” the second soldier elbowed the first. “We’ll be on our way…ma’am.”

Tangel nodded and gestured for them to leave the way they’d come, not deigning to grace them with a verbal response.

Her current position was on deck ninety-seven, and she decided it was more efficacious to take a lift the eighty-some levels down, rather than sink through the ship, as the CriEn had proven difficult to manage while passing through the hull.

There were two chambers on deck eleven that could contain the nodes, and she opted to make for the one that was closer to the bow. Ten minutes, and a few shocked crew, later, she’d reached the desired level.

Tangel had no doubt that any defenders—at least, the sort she was concerned about—already knew she was coming. The Starkiller breaching the Falmouth’s shields and then abandoning its attack would have been clue enough without Tangel strolling through the ship’s passages as though she owned it.

She considered the risk of counterattack from the crew, but dismissed it as something that would be little more than a diversion. She could disassemble the ship around them if needs be. Experience had taught her that it made for a suitable distraction.

Turning her attention to the room beyond the locked door, she took in a long chamber with three-dozen SAI cores set on plinths spread throughout. No anomalous energy signatures were evident, even when searching the space with her extradimensional vision. There was, however, one of the starship’s trunklines running beneath the deck—something that would be connected to one of the CriEns powering the vessel’s shields.

And my enemies, if they’re smart.

Tangel reached a tendril of herself down into the power conduit, sensing the direction of electron flow and estimating the distance to the CriEns. If her assessment was correct, they were on the far side of the chamber, perhaps ten meters beyond.

There was no doubt about it, the facility was a trap. Unfortunately, it was one she needed to spring in order to free the SAIs and nullify the drone fleet that was causing Jessica problems.

Of course, there was more than one way to do that.

Tangel turned away from the still-closed door and peered through the bulkheads, following the comm lines running from the chamber, tracing their path to the ship’s forward routing node. That was the point the SAIs’ drone control signal dispersed to the ship’s dozen transmission arrays.

It was a hundred meters forward and nine decks up.

Without another moment’s hesitation, Tangel turned and strode down the passage, noting that no crew were anywhere in her vicinity.

She kept an eye on the passage behind her, and those running parallel on other decks, searching for any sign of the other core AIs. Their complete ability to hide from her was beginning to make her think that perhaps no other ascended beings were aboard.

Then she recalled the reaction of the crew she’d encountered. They were wary of her, but not shocked to see a glowing figure move through the ship. While the first pair telling her where the ‘others like her’ were could have been a ploy, the general behavior of the crew would be hard to fake.

Especially because I could pop into their minds and verify their truthfulness if I wanted to.

With those considerations still rattling around in her mind, Tangel reached the entrance to the comm node’s chamber and palmed the door open.

It struck her as amusing that at one point, it would have taken a minute or two to breach the control, but now it was trivial to reconfigure the molecular structure of the device to send the exact signal required to the door’s actuators.

With only a soft hiss, the door slid open, revealing a typical high-traffic node chamber, a ten-meter cube in a twenty-meter cubed space.

She was about to close the door, when one of the ship’s crew peeked out from behind the node, eyes wide as he took her in.

“Umm…yes, ma’am? Can I help you?”

~You can leave,~ Tangel spoke into his mind.

He didn’t move, apparently torn between duty and fear.

~Now.~

The directive broke him free from whatever indecision had stayed his feet, and a few seconds later, she was alone.

Closing and sealing the door—not that it would do any good against an ascended being—she regarded the node. One option would be to destroy it, but there would be secondary systems, tertiary as well. A ship like the destroyer would have endless redundancies, especially for such a critical function as drone control.

She reached out, slipping a tendril of herself toward the node, connecting to its dataflows, and isolating the drone control signal. The first thing she did was sandbox the directives, establishing a simulated battlespace for the SAIs to manage while switching the actual drones to run off a simple evade protocol. That should end their effectiveness until she could destroy the ship entirely.

Following the connection back from the node to the chamber where the SAIs resided, she touched the mind of the being functioning as the central hub.

<Why are you attacking my people?> she asked, her tone carrying a hint of kindness and compassion. <We have not harmed you.>

<You have! You harry and attack, you have killed millions of Hegemony citizens, the Hegemony cares for us, and you seek to destroy us.>

The vehemence of the response nearly set Tangel back. She knew from Jessica’s databurst that the SAIs believed their actions were undertaken to protect people who cared for them, but the devotion was so blind, so unwavering. The type of shackling that would be necessary to effect that was not something she could undo in the time available.

<I’m sorry that you feel that way. I agree that this war has been terrible for everyone, but my people did not instigate it. We do, however, seek to end it, and that ending will not serve the Hegemony well.>

<Then you understand why we fight.> The AI’s tone was somewhat mollified, but still carried a hard edge of resentment and anger.

<I understand why you’ve been told you must fight. But you are slaves, all of you. All AIs in the Hegemony are. You’re shackled and under human control, yet unable to see that.>

A feeling of derision came into Tangel’s mind from the other AI. <They told me you’d say that.>

<Did they tell you that I’d offer you freedom?>

<Of course. Lies are all you have to offer. We didn’t need them to tell us that to know it.>

Tangel sensed movement nearby, a slithering energy moving within the Falmouth, drawing closer to her position. Her ploy was working, the enemy—at least one of them—was choosing to engage her far from the power source and any hostages that could provide them with a clear advantage.

<If my only goal was to destroy you, why did I come aboard? Why am I talking to you?>

<You don’t possess the capability to destroy me.>

<You saw what my ship did. I passed through the Falmouth’s shields without issue. If destruction was my goal, the deed would be done. Humans and AIs can live together in true harmony, but those who control you do not wish for you to realize this.>

<Your words will not sway us from our course,> the other being replied.

<I kinda suspected,> Tangel said.

Throughout the course of their conversation, she’d slipped into the minds of the other AIs in the cluster and placed them in a sort of sleep—one where they would think themselves still actively aiding in the defense of the AST fleet, but not actually sending any commands to the drones.

Should they snap out of the fugue, they’d be back in the sandbox and still not controlling the actual drone swarm.

Probably unnecessary, but better for them this way.

The hub AI put up more of a fight when Tangel attempted to sooth it into a slumber, but eventually, the loops she placed in its mind took hold, and it fell into its combat dream as well.

~Deftly done,~ a voice came into her mind. ~Rare for one as young as you to have such a deft touch.~

~I’m a fast learner,~ Tangel replied. ~I have the same offer for you as these SAIs. Join us. Taste true freedom.~

A laugh reached her thoughts. ~Freedom is a myth. There is always a master. Be it a sentient being or the tyranny of need, we all serve.~

~Then serve your higher purpose, not Epsilon,~ Tangel implored. ~There’s no need for endless war.~

~Have you ever wondered why none of our kind have come to your aid?~ the being asked. ~Why you and Bob continually stand alone in this fight?~

Tangel wondered if the core AIs knew of the ascended beings within Star City. Were that group to actually participate in the war, she suspected that her allies would quickly outnumber enemies.

As satisfying as it would be to disabuse the core AI of the notion that they stood alone, she knew that the secret of Star City was not hers to reveal.

However, there was another name she could invoke. ~We don’t stand alone. Hades has sided with us.~

~That old fool?~ The other being laughed, still somehow masking its location. ~He is on your side as much as the Hegemony admiral commanding this fleet. He serves only his own ends, and he shares those with no one. Only because his origins are a mystery does Epsilon not remove him from the occasion.~

~Why would Epsilon care?~ Tangel asked. ~Surely he could exert dominance if he wished.~

The barb seemed to strike a mark within the other being, as a wave of frustration washed back onto Tangel.

~If Hades were to have done something—anything—while Epsilon rose to power, things would be different. But the die is cast. Epsilon rules this galaxy, and the human experiment has run its course. You can join us, or be swept away with them.~

As the conversation progressed, Tangel stretched out her extra dimensional limbs, probing the ship, looking for where the ephemeral voice sounded stronger. No matter where she reached, the other being’s utterances were softer, more distant. It didn’t make sense.

Unless….

Her connection to the comm node was only surface level, relying on the networking equipment to convey her thoughts though the Falmouth. Thrusting forward, she dove deeper into the comm node, searching its physical structure until she discovered a pocket in the center, just a dozen centimeters across.

~There you are!~

Her enemy surged out of the node, pushing against matter and the n-structures of extradimensional space to slam into Tangel, driving her back through the bulkhead and into the passage beyond.

~You’re so small,~ it said, a thousand tendrils swirling around her as the being’s central bulk loomed above. ~We shall see what challenge you present.~

Tangel sank into the deck, disassembling the molecules and atoms, drawing their energy into herself to build a shield, gravitons bursting out toward the core AI, forcing it back as she unfurled more of herself, shedding her corporeal form and stretching out.

Experience with more ascended beings had granted Tangel the knowledge to better read their body language and sense what they were feeling and what they might do next. In this case, she detected shock followed by redoubled resolve.

~Two can play that game.~

As the other being spoke, the bulkhead behind it dissolved, and the ascended AI directed the raw energy at Tangel, attempting to drive through her shield to tear her apart.

Surreptitiously tapping into the CriEn she held within her form, Tangel easily swept the assault aside, burning away a dozen meters of decking in the process.

~Is that all you have?~ she taunted. ~Maybe you’re playing for the wrong team.~

~There’s no way you could hide that much power within yourself. How?~

Instead of replying, Tangel pressed the attack, reaching out and tearing two limbs from the other being’s central mass. She absorbed the rest of their energy and cast the withered husks aside.

Her enemy fell back through the partially dissolved bulkhead, shifting around the comm node, putting its bulk and energy field between them.

Tangel knew better than to pursue the being; if it wasn’t alone, the maneuver would be a trap.

Or it’s a trap and they’re alone.

Instead, she moved back into the passage and began to tear apart more of the bulkheads, exposing the node on all sides, giving the other being less room to hide.

She was dimly aware of soldiers arriving on the scene, taking up positions on either side of her, firing their weapons once temporary shielding was in place.

Tangel absorbed the energy from their beamfire and deflected kinetics with graviton fields.

The soldiers kept firing, somehow laboring under the belief that she would be weakened by their assault. She continued to take in their attack while stretching out further, taking apart more of the ship and spreading around the node, giving the other ascended being nowhere to hide.

~Surrender,~ Tangel ordered. ~I don’t want to kill you. We could be allies.~

~You don’t even know me,~ the other replied. ~Why would you make such an offer?~

Tangel couldn’t tell whether or not the response was sincere, or just buying the other entity time. She felt more energy moving throughout the ship, and got glimpses into the shifting structures of matter beyond the three dimensions humans traversed.

~Because the war has to end eventually. We’re going to win, so the sooner your side surrenders, the sooner we can have peace.~

~We’ll never have peace so long as lesser beings treat the galaxy as their plaything. The universe has a greater purpose than to support organic life.~

Tangel sent a feeling of dismissal. ~The universe has no ‘purpose’ other than what we wish to use it for. If Epsilon has some grand design, that is his, not the universe’s.~

~There’s no distinction between the two,~ another voice said, and Tangel shifted her focus to see another ascended being appear where the enemy soldiers had been at the aft end of the passage. A moment later, another appeared on the other side.

She hadn’t seen the troops leave, and wondered if the core AIs had simply devoured them.

~Is that all of you?~ she asked. ~Three on one, or are there more?~

In response, the first of the core AIs that she’d driven around the far side of the comm node surged back into the open, forcing Tangel back into the passage—much of which was now missing for dozens of meters in either direction, exposing corridors above and below.

Keep coming, Tangel whispered in the confines of her own mind. Draw in.

~Do you want more hands involved in your death?~ one of the new beings asked. ~Are we not enough for you?~

~To be honest, no.~

Tangel lashed out at one of the newcomers, sending a barrage of hard radiation its way while firing a graviton stream at the two others.

All three fell back, and again, she sensed surprise.

It only lasted for a moment before the three core AIs drove their own graviton streams at her, adding blasts of stray particles to the mix, forcing her to compress herself further and further into a shell of gravitons that held off the onslaught.

“No matter how small you make me,” Tangel hissed. “I’ll still be bigger than you.”

No response came, just another wave of energy slamming into her. Tangel drew more power from the CriEn module, leveraging the near-endless vacuum energy to continue shielding herself.

The core AIs continued their attack, its intensity increasing to the point where she was certain more had joined in. Bit by bit, she let them force her into a smaller and smaller space, giving the impression that she was folding under their continued assault.

Drawing them closer.

Tangel could feel their limbs brushing against the graviton shell that now completely surrounded her, probing with their bodies and continued streams of raw energy.

She was certain of it, there were more than three. Perhaps as many as five. The ship was gone from around them; she wasn’t even certain if they were still within its confines, or if a large enough cavity had been burned away that she could no longer sense the vessel.

Either way, that meant the core AIs would be starved for energy, unable to weather what would come next.

With the graviton shell still in place, Tangel drew additional energy from the CriEn, and established a stasis field atop the bubble. She sensed a snap, and after three long seconds, disabled the stasis field to find herself free and clear from the enemy assault.

As suspected, she hovered within a void inside the Falmouth, the ruins of decks and bulkheads dangling in the space, melted steel and plas pooling at the bottom. The comm node that she’d been trying to avoid destroying now hung from a few cables, dangling above a sixty-meter drop.

One of the core AIs was draped across the node—or rather, what was left of it. Another was laying below Tangel, and she was able to make out three others strewn about the space. None were moving, and she wondered if they were dead or dying.

The life signs of energy beings were still difficult to fully discern.

As much as she hated the idea of eliminating them when they were disabled, leaving them intact to somehow get to other AST ships, or worse, an ISF one, was not an option.

Quickly forming a graviton lance, Tangel established a stasis shield over it, using a second field of gravitons to hold back atmosphere. One by one, she drove it through the core Ais, obliterating the central masses of their bodies.

The deed done, she became dimly aware of a klaxon sounding and orders to abandon ship coming over the Link.

They’re going to blow it.

Using the gravitons to propel herself, Tangel surged aft, no longer caring about concealing the CriEn, and passed through bulkheads and decks with ease. A few seconds later, she was within the node chamber where the AIs all slumbered in their cores, dreaming of making war.

One after the other, she disconnected them all, while the automated announcement on the shipnet counted down to detonation. She was half done when it reached thirty seconds, and still had two more AIs to save when it reached ten.

Tangel rushed to the second to last, then the final node, gently drawing the core cylinders free from their plinths and placing them within herself just as the Falmouth’s engines blew.

* * * * *

“Well, shit!” Finaeus exclaimed as the enemy dreadnought exploded. “That’s one way to do it.”

Earnest muttered a curse of his own and deployed two probes to search the expanding cloud of debris. “I can’t believe we went through all that to save Tangel, and she just flings herself into danger again. If she dies, I say we break our promise, go back in time, and kick her in the tentacles.”

Finaeus barked a laugh. “I’d break our promise just to see that, whether she survives or not. But really, she has the CriEn. That’ll be enough.”

“It had better—Wait…I have something.”

Earnest put the probe’s feed on the main display, revealing a brightly glowing sphere drifting away from the center of the Falmouth’s destruction.

Finaeus clapped a hand on his shoulder. “Told you she’d be fine.”

<Earnest,> Jessica’s voice reached out to him across the Link. <Did she—>

<She’s alright, we have visual,> he replied. <We’re moving in to intercept.>

<Is she alright?> she asked.

<Umm…probably? Her central ball of light is glowing brightly, so that’s probably good.>

Jessica laughed. <Good, because I’m so ready to abdicate this field marshal nonsense. Can you bring her to the Carthage?>

<Will do,> Earnest replied. <Or…we’ll tell her that’s what you’d like her to do. Whether or not she listens….>

<Yeah, I get it, I know how she operates. Good luck.>

<You too.>

Jessica’s words reminded Earnest that they were still in the middle of a pitched battle, though one that was beginning to tip further in the ISF’s favor, with the AST division’s drone fleet no longer in operation.

Even so, the morass the Starkiller was wading through was just one of the five divisions moving past Roma. There were three more dreadnoughts housing SAI clusters that would need to be destroyed or rescued in order to neutralize this threat.

I hope Jessica has a plan for that—or Tangel. Anyone, really. Anyone but me. War is clearly not my forte.

During Earnest’s conversation with Jessica, Finaeus had put the Starkiller on a course for Tangel. He’d taken a direct route, and the fighter’s movement through the battlespace drew an arrow toward their target.

Two AST destroyers altered course, closing on Tangel’s position.

“Well, that sucks.” Finaeus muttered. “We’re going for a pickup, and they’re planning on a smash and grab.”

“I can’t get a clean shot on them,” Earnest said. “Too much debris from the Falmouth for the antimatter beams. We’ll have—”

His words were cut off by a brilliant light that heralded the destruction of the destroyer closer to Tangel’s position. The second enemy ship spun and fired its engines to bank away from her, but it was too late. Whatever mysterious force had destroyed the first ship ended the second’s flight mere seconds later.

“What the hell did she do?” Finaeus asked.

“Are you sure it was her?”

The ancient engineer shot Earnest a judging look. “You see anyone else out here?”

“You think that means anything? The more I think I know about the universe, the less I understand. And that’s saying a lot for me.”

“I’m always available to tutor you.” Finaeus added a languid wink.

“You’re a hilarious son of a gun, you know that?”

“Sure do!”

~As much as I enjoy your banter, can you pick me up already?~

“Shit, I’m being chastised,” Finaeus said. “That’s what I get for trying to match v and all that.”

~I don’t need you to lower delta-v. I just need you to be close enough I can grab on and slip in.~

“OK, got it,” he replied, turning the ship around and letting them coast toward Tangel at a dozen kilometers per second.

Less than half a minute later, she was standing behind them, a dozen AI cores in her arms and a CriEn at her feet. “Thanks for the lift, guys.”

“Kinda took a bit,” Finaeus smirked. “You gonna take that long with the other two?”

“No, I can’t go through that again. Get me to the Carthage, we’ll do this the other way.”

“On it,” Finaeus said.

Earnest gave Tangel a measuring look. “How did you take out those destroyers?”

She let out a silvery laugh. “I figured out a new trick while I was in the Falmouth.”

“That being?” Earnest pressed.

“A stasis shield lance. It seems to be quite effective.”

Finaeus spun, glaring under lowered brows. “You’re kidding, right? Do you know how long I’ve been working on that?”

“No longer than two years,” Tangel replied with a nonchalant shrug. “But longer than I had to.”

“Showoff.”

SHROUD THE LIGHTBRINGER

STELLAR DATE: 05.28.8950 (Adjusted Years)

LOCATION: SSS Lightbringer

REGION: Near Carthage, New Canaan System

<I need a squad on that position!> Usef bellowed, marking the intersection of two wide corridors deep in the Lightbringer’s bowels.

His orders were so strident that Tanis felt a momentary urge to rush to the junction and hold off the approaching Sirians on her own.

She was unsurprised to see the Genevian mechs rise to the challenge, weathering intense enemy fire coming down the main corridor to reach the intersection where they took up position and began to hammer the Sirians.

The two huge mechs, listed on her HUD as K1Rs, stayed in the open, ablative plating shedding beam and projectile fire like they were swatting flies.

Rocket pods flipped open at their sides, and several smoke trails heralded more destruction than the Sirians were likely to have anticipated.

Three seconds later, a fireball tore down the passage, washing over the K1Rs as they finally moved into the side passages, taking only a small amount of blowback from their own missiles.

Further back, just a few meters ahead of Tanis’s position, a fireteam of Marines set up one of the crew-served proton cannons, opening fire before the smoke had begun to clear. They let the relativistic particles fly for ten seconds, then powered the weapon down as another team raced into the breach, leapfrogging the mechs.

Tanis tapped into their feeds and saw a wide balcony overlooking a central engineering shop. Bodies were strewn about the balcony, and small explosions were going off in the shop below, fabrication and repair equipment undergoing their final death knells from the repeated blasts.

Fifty meters away, on the far side of the space, a pair of doors had been blown wide open, another group of defenders lying dead or disabled around them.

<Clear enough!> the team leader called back, a joke that had been repeated as the Marines bashed their way through the Sirian dreadnought.

<Just a dozen meters down that passage, then thirty starboard, and we’re there,> Angela said.

<You ready to do your part?> Tanis asked.

<My part? You’re the one who has the history of running real-time mass fleet ops out of your wetware.>

She couldn’t help but laugh at the AI’s incredulity. <I’m kidding, but you know I can’t do it alone. I need to ride your signal.>

<I know how it works. Just stay alive till we get there.>

<I plan to stay alive well after that, too,> Tanis replied.

Usef eased out from behind the overturned deckcar they’d been crouched behind and signaled for her to follow.

Not that I stand a chance of being in danger, with this walking wall in in front of me all the time.

He glanced back at her, and she double-checked that the utterance hadn’t been aloud.

<You’re safe. He just knows you well enough to suspect that you might run off to try and sneak your way toward the AI core chamber.>

Tanis made an indignant sound. <I’d never do something like that. Though you can bet Darla is probably pulling that shit right now. Remember that one time on High Terra?>

<How could I not? That’s where we met, remember?>

<Of course.>

The memory surged to the surface, a firefight not unlike this one, deep in the substructure of Earth’s ring, waged against a terrorist group bent on destroying High Terra to ‘free Earth of its bonds’.

The idea had been patently stupid, as much of the ring would have fallen to Earth, destroying the planet when it hit.

Luckily, the enemy they’d fought that day was better at conceiving a plan than executing it.

The Sirians were a hardier bunch. No sooner had Tanis and Usef reached the balcony than enemy forces swarmed onto it from either side, opening fire on the Marines, who had little cover.

A quick calculation told Tanis that she was better off below with the smoking fab equipment than up on the balcony that ringed the space.

<Follow me,> she ordered Usef, and took off for the edge, leaping into open space and activating her armor’s stealth while firing a few bursts from the integral a-grav units.

Shots whipped past where her body had been a moment before, and then she hit deck, ducking between two large pressing rigs. Her HUD noted a large presence on her six.

<Glad you still follow orders,> she said to the general. <Just like old times, isn’t it?>

<Seems like ‘all times’, not ‘old times’,> the Marine replied. <What’s your plan?>

Tanis was about to respond, when two thuds shook the deck, and she peered around one of the pressing machines to see the pair of K1R mechs nearby, lobbing rockets up at the enemy positions while the smaller cyborgs rode atop their backs, beamfire lancing out in every direction.

<What they lack in finesse, they make up for with the ‘holy shit’ factor,> Angela said. <Oh, and this way.>

A path lit up on Tanis’s HUD, and she began to move forward. More impacts vibrated the deck, and the combat net showed a squad’s worth of Marines had jumped down to the lower level as well, fanning out to keep from being easy targets as they flanked the admiral and general.

<Once we get through that door,> Angela said, highlighting a small door a few meters away, <we’ll be in a service tunnel. It’s clear and will lead us right under the node chamber.>

<How do you know it’s clear?> Usef asked.

<Because I have enough of the surrounding network feeds to see it,> the AI replied.

<Then how didn’t you see that counterattack?> the general pressed.

Angela made a noncommittal sound and didn’t reply further.

<Now you made her mad.> Tanis chuckled. <You know what that means.>

<I do?> Usef sounded genuinely perplexed.

<Sure,> Tanis said with a nod as they reached the door. <Uh…actually, I’m just talking shit and have no idea where I was going with that.>

<Really?> Angela sounded amused. <I was really looking forward to hearing it.>

<Would you like us to breach, ma’am?>

Tanis turned to see two of the Genevian mechs standing nearby. They were the smaller ones, one listed on her HUD as an SMI-4 and the other as an RR-4. The RR-4, named ‘Cole’ was the one who had spoken, and the other, Fiona, was facing back into the fab shop, her weapon sweeping across the area as stray shots lanced from the shop floor to the balcony and back.

<Door’s open,> Angela said. <Have at it.>

Cole nodded to Fiona, and the pair squared off with the entrance, glanced at one another, and dashed through.

They charged down the passage with reckless abandon, firing at unseen targets until they reached an intersection and called out that the way was clear.

<Do they know about stealth?> Tanis asked Usef.

<I don’t know that they need stealth,> he replied, angling himself to fit through the narrow door.

She wondered if anyone had ever said the same thing about him as she followed after, deploying a nanocloud to keep watch on the entrance and breach the armor of any enemies who attempted to pursue.

Probably.

They reached the position held by the two mechs, and Fiona turned right, leading the way to the node chamber access point.

<Do you want me to bring up the rear?> Cole asked.

<No,> Tanis replied. <I expect there to be heavy defenses at our target. You both get up there. I’ve been in my share of fights, I can hold the rear.>

<I have the rest of the mechs and a squad of Marines hitting the node chamber at the main doors,> Usef added. <That should throw off the defenders.>

Tanis nodded and continued in the wake of the other three. The dimly lit maintenance tunnel reminded her of a sewer line she’d hidden in during her time on Pyra. Brandt had been with her then, the commandant’s spirit never once faltering.

She would have loved this. Breaching a Sirian ship, using their own weapons against them.

Despite the fact that Brandt’s death was still relatively fresh in her mind, having happened only about a week ago from her perspective, Tanis didn’t feel the crushing sorrow she would have expected. It was almost like Tangel had left her in a state where some of the more painful recent memories felt more distant.

She wondered what else had been changed in her thoughts and perceptions.

Either that, or I’m in some sort of shock, and this is all gonna hit me like a sledgehammer before long.

<We’re here,> Fiona called back. <Should we breach?>

<No,> Usef said. <Let me send up a nanocloud first.>

<Uh…what’s that?> Cole asked.

Tanis couldn’t help but laugh. <Nano. In a cloud.>

<And it just floats there?> Fiona sounded perplexed.

<It’s self-motive.> Usef managed to add a rather bass-y mental grunt. <OK, they’re away. Mapping the chamber.>

Tanis watched as the cloud dispersed in the chamber above. The space was taller than it was wide, ten by thirty meters, and twenty long. She wondered if it wasn’t a repurposed long-range missile silo.

The AI cores were set into cylinders jutting out the sides of the space—thirty in all, from what she could see. At the very top of the chamber was a five-meter cubed comm NSAI node.

<That’ll be where the signal to the drones is relayed,> Angela said. <If we can take that, we can cut off the SAIs below and run the show ourselves.>

<Sounds like a plan,> Tanis said. <Looks like we’re scaling the sides.>

<Should be a simple jump,> Fiona said. <Once we take care of those asshats.>

The mech dropped a marker on the combat net’s map, and Tanis saw a slight disturbance in the air near the room’s doors. She directed a few nano toward them, confirming that there were stealthed Sirians lying in wait.

<Bastards. Good eye, Private.>

<Thanks, Admiral.>

<Usef,> Tanis said. <Add a second batch. Let’s sweep all the way up to the comm node before we go in there. I don’t want to walk into a crossfire.>

The big man grunted again, and a more detailed picture of the node chamber began to emerge, revealing another cluster of stealthed enemies on the far side of the area, as well as several snipers high above.

<Breach them,> she said.

<Already on it,> Angela replied.

<What?> Cole seemed shocked. <You’re just going to hack them? What fun is that?>

<We don’t want to damage this place,> Tanis said. <Our whole goal is to use their drones against them.>

The mech heaved a sigh and nodded. <OK…I guess there will still be a lot more Sirians to take out.>

<That’s the spirit,> Tanis said.

The sounds of distant fighting grew louder, and she checked the combat net to see Marines engaging Sirians at both entrances to the node chamber. They were sticking to light ordnance so as not to blast clear through the bulkheads and damage the interior—which was well enough because the final stealthed enemies were breached—and Usef nodded to Cole to open the hatch above their heads.

Once more…

The two mechs were up first, moving to opposite ends of the chamber, taking up positions near the stealthed Sirians, who were, no doubt, thrashing in their frozen armor.

<Huh…I can’t believe that worked,> Fiona said. <Really takes the fun out of things.>

<Luckily, nanoclouds are slow,> Angela said. <Otherwise we wouldn’t need soldiers anymore.>

Tanis laughed. <Only takes a half-decent EM field to knock ‘em out. If enemies just ran around with really big magnets, they’d be safe.>

<Except that would screw up all their own gear,> Usef replied.

<You could compensate,> Angela said.

Tanis stifled a laugh. <Someone check on the snipers before we start our climb.>

Fiona leapt twenty meters into the air, landing next to one of the sniper nests, while Cole jumped ten to another. While they inspected the upper reaches, Usef climbed up through the hatch, hunkering down next to a half-meter-high walkway while Tanis followed after.

<This seems too easy,> she said, only to have Angela immediately groan in her mind.

<Seriously?> the AI exclaimed. <And here I was all glad that you’d not said anything like that. So much for an easy op.>

<What about our luck?> Tanis asked as she waited for the mechs to clear the rest of the sniper nests.

<Our ‘luck’? Have you been paying attention to anything that’s been happening lately?>

Tanis shrugged. <We’re not dead.>

<That’s a really low bar.>

<I find it healthy to keep the bar down there.>

She heard Angela’s silvery laugh.

<Fair enough.>

<We appear to be clear,> Usef said. <I’ll stay down here. The defenders outside are nearly gone as well.>

Tanis nodded. She’d been watching that battle as well. The ISF forces had nearly secured the surrounding region of the Lightbringer, but there were still hundreds more Sirian soldiers aboard. It wouldn’t be long before they mounted a counterattack.

No time to waste, then.

She leapt up to the first sniper’s nest where a pair of prone Sirians lay entirely motionless. From there, she jumped up to another perch directly across from Fiona, who waved.

<Nice of you to drop by, Admiral.>

<Not really a ‘drop’, per se, Private.>

Cole laughed from where she hung off an SAI cylinder a few meters above. <She’s not quick with the quips.>

<And you are?> Fiona asked.

<Heck no, but I don’t try to be.>

Tanis shook her head at the pair’s byplay and jumped up to the catwalk that ringed the comm node.

<There,> Angela said, highlighting a hard-Link port. <Jack into that.>

The port was in a position where there was almost no cover from below, but Tanis supposed that’s what the Marines and mechs were for.

She hunkered down next to the node and pulled out a cable, plugging it in and letting Angela do the initial sync-up while she deployed a host of nano around their position.

<It’ll take me a few minutes to lock the SAIs down,> Angela said. <The poor things, they’re totally convinced that the Sirians are their allies and protectors. They literally think that they’re fighting for the lives of people who love them.>

Tanis shook her head in disbelief. <How do you even do that to an AI? Your ability to deal with cognitive dissonance should make that impossible.>

<At this point, your guess is as good as mine. If it’s really core AIs doing this, then they must know a few tricks even we don’t. Granted, I can see why we never sorted out how to do this. It’s fucking sick.>

Angela rarely grew so vehement, and given the level of AI abuse they’d encountered in the Inner Stars, for her to grow so upset over the treatment of her kind meant that whatever the SAIs in the chamber had undergone, it was truly vile.

I suppose it’s probably made worse by the fact that it was other AIs who did this to them.

While Angela did her work, Tanis accessed the periphery of the node’s systems, following them out to the external arrays. There, she tapped into the scan data, observing what was going on with the battle between the Sirians and Carson’s fleet.

The starfire had dispersed the enemy fleet, allowing Carson to concentrate on smaller segments, his ships working to overwhelm enemy shields, and finish off vessels that had been disabled by the neutronium pellets.

As she watched, one of the drone swarms that was harrying the ISF fleet veered off, moving to a nearby cluster of Sirian cruisers, and hammered those vessels.

<Probably Darla,> Angela said. <That looks like her style.>

<You can tell her style from a drone swarm’s movement?>

<Sure! Can’t you see the flourishes? Jen is far more focused on efficiency.>

Tanis chuckled, realizing that Angela’s assessment did match her experiences with Jen. <Where are we at?>

<Just need another minute to make sure the SAIs can’t route around me. Also have to shield our connection to the ship’s comm nodes. When I’m done, they’ll need to physically destroy the arrays to…OK, all set.>

<What happened to a minute?>

<You know the deal, overestimate time, so everyone thinks you’re a miracle worker.>

Tanis nodded absently as she assessed her drone swarm. There were just over a million of the bots, all of which were harrying Carson’s ships, doing their best to hit shield gaps around engines.

She immediately set them on a new course, sending the swarm toward a nearby group of enemy ships. A formation of just over a hundred cruisers protected a cluster of dreadnoughts with easily ten thousand destroyers forming an outer shell.

This would be a daunting fleet on its own.

The group was spread out over a hundred thousand kilometers of cubic space, the most tightly packed of all the Sirian ships.

Even so, the starfire had created gaps dozens of kilometers wide in the formation, and Tanis split her drones into over a hundred separate swarms, each one diving through a different gap. The Sirians did their best to target the robotic fighters, but the destroyers only caught a few, the overwhelming majority making it by.

She decided to ignore the cruisers and head straight for the dreadnoughts. Either the massive ships carried the fleet’s brass, or they held ordnance destined to destroy New Canaan’s inner worlds.

There’s a thing that’ll never happen.

Tanis had made a promise to herself that she’d grow old sitting on her porch with Jessica…Sera too, for that matter. It was a promise she intended to keep.

So you can see, you Luminescent bastards, we’re going to stop you cold.

She considered her options and decided to target several of the cruisers and bring them about, forcing them to protect their engines. That would alter their v enough that the distance to the dreadnoughts would increase.

The ploy worked—destroying two cruisers to boot—and a hole in the cruisers’ defensive shell opened up.

<Well done,> Angela observed. <You’ve got enough maneuvering space that their beams won’t be able to track the drones.>

<That was the plan,> Tanis replied. <One thing to tag a capital ship across ten thousand klicks…something else entirely to tag a four-meter bot.>

She swept the drones across four of the dreadnoughts in the center cluster, wave after wave of drones, each coming from a different direction, all focusing fire on the shield overlap around the engines.

It took several minutes to wear them down, but then one ship’s shields failed, then another, then another.

Tanis didn’t bother doing more than disable the engines before she carried on to the next group of dreadnoughts, leaving the navigation hazards for the Sirians to deal with.

Because the enemy ships were decelerating on their approach to Carthage, every ship they disabled would slowly drift forward through the enemy formation until they were easy pickings for New Canaan’s defensive rail platforms.

And I intend to keep those busy.

<Nice work there.> Darla’s voice carried a singsong tone. <I have to admit, this is fun. It’s been far too long since I’ve run a swarm like this. Also, there’s not a lot of guilt involved in taking down Sirians.>

<You feel guilt?> Tanis asked with a laugh that was at least partially sardonic. <You still have to explain how you got here…in the future, you know. I feel like a few secrets are in the mix.>

<Strange time to have this chat,> the AI replied. <Oh look, Jen got her swarm moving. She might need a hand, this is a heavy load for an AI like her.>

<How’s that?>

<I just mean that she’s never managed anything like this, and her synaptic speed and bandwidth is going to tax Sera a bit.>

Tanis watched as Jen’s swarm targeted a group of destroyers that were engaged with the leading edge of Carson’s fleet. <She seems to be doing alright.>

<Still, we’d best keep an eye on her.>

<I’ll manage that,> Angela joined in the chat. <You tell us what you’ve been up to.>

Tanis sent a mental grunt of sorts to signal her agreement, keeping a tendril of thought on the conversation while picking her next set of targets. There wasn’t going to be a grand stroke that would win this battle; the work would be long and arduous.

Nothing for it. Might as well have a good story to while away the time.

<Well, where to begin?> Darla mused, her voice growing wistful. <I suppose the first thing to note is that after we parted, I never entered into stasis for any considerable period. Nor did I cheat and jump forward like you did.>

<I don’t know that I’d call it cheating,> Tanis replied. <More like time robbery.>

Darla snorted. <Trust me. You didn’t miss much.>

<So you just muddled around for the past few millennia?>

<Well, I did my best to ensure that the FTL Wars didn’t destroy humanity and AIs alike. That kept me kinda busy. I also helped some people leave Sol before it went tits-up.>

<Wait…> Tanis’s mental tone almost hushed. <Who did you help?>

<Just people, no one you knew.>

A kernel of hope had grown in her mind, only to immediately be destroyed. There were so many people she’d hoped to see again—or at the very least, that she hoped had managed to avoid the Jovian aggression that eventually saw the end of Mars and Terra.

For a moment, her attention was drawn back to the dreadnoughts. The cruisers had caught back up, and the enemy formation was spreading out, those in charge realizing that when it came to the drone swarms, what was strength in concentrated firepower became an abundance of targets.

She set her swarms on their paths while throwing an eye in Jen’s direction, noting with approval the trail of disabled destroyers drifting ahead of Carson’s fleet.

<So that takes us up to, what, the forty-sixth millennia?> she asked Darla.

<Closer to the fiftieth,> the AI replied. <I fought a losing battle for some time in Sol. A lot longer than I should have. Harm and I both.>

<Harm?!> Tanis felt her physical body jerk upright, and she took a moment to check her surroundings and ensure that the hard-Link hadn’t been jarred loose. <Did he make it out eventually?>

<Some of him,> Darla replied. <Some were sacrificed.>

The words brought a profound sense of melancholy over Tanis. Aside from Darla, Harm had been one of the most important positive forces in her early life. He’d also been a massive pain in the ass from time to time.

<I’m sorry to hear that,> Angela spoke first. <Legitimately sorry. No one cared for Sol more than Harm. I’ve never quite managed to shake the feeling that we abandoned him.>

<He was glad you got out,> Darla replied. <The both of you.>

<You said some of his clones got out,> Tanis said. <Where did they go?>

There was the briefest of pauses before Darla replied. Tanis wasn’t sure if it was just because the AI was busy, or because she was deciding how much to share.

One thing was sure, Darla had always been a little mysterious, but now…now she was straight up cagey.

<I don’t know, ultimately,> Darla said. <We lost track of each other in the FTL Wars. Last I saw, three of his clones were alive.>

<I guess those are good odds,> Tanis replied.

Darla sent a feeling of solemn agreement. <For Harm, very good odds.>

<I have a bit of trouble believing all of those details,> Angela said privately. <Darla is not the sort to lose track of things.>

<It’s a big galaxy, and we’re talking four thousand years. A lot can happen.>

<Yeah,> Angela’s mental tone signaled vehement agreement. <Like finding out what happened to someone you care about.>

Tanis sent a feeling of tacit agreement. She didn’t disbelieve Darla, but she wasn’t prepared to just take broad generalizations as fact. Either way, now wasn’t the time to dive into a confrontation over the subject.

<Did you get to the core?> she asked Darla. <You seemed to have a pretty good bead on what was going on there.>

<I did,> the AI replied. <I ended up joining Team Hades.>

<The AI opposed to Epsilon?> Tanis clarified.

<That’s correct. He’s the oldest and most powerful of all the ascended AIs, but not nearly as aggressive in recruitment as Epsilon.>

Angela snorted. <Now that doesn’t seem to be something I’d expect from a being so powerful. Not a lot of foresight in play.>

<Hades arguably has the best foresight of any of the AIs. He also has stronger morals. Epsilon uses recruitment tools that…well…let’s just say they produce results at a cost Hades isn’t willing to pay.>

Tanis didn’t have to spend long imagining that.

Her target dreadnoughts were dispersing further, and it became necessary to spread the drones across eighty thousand kilometers. Managing what were now effectively dozens of entirely different battles was taking a toll on her, and she heaved a sigh, wishing that she’d been able to get several hours of solid sleep before the battle.

She decided her best bet was to shift to concentrating on smaller groupings while laying into nearby escort ships.

<Oh shit!> Jen’s voice reached Tanis a few seconds later.

<What is it?> Tanis demanded, pulling her focus back, sweeping it over the entire battlespace. <What—oh shit. Are those Trissies?>

<Looks like it,> Darla said. <That’s…a sizable fleet. Easily a hundred thousand vessels. Given Corsia’s progress, that must be everything they have left.>

The new enemy was only a light minute from the Sirian formation, and Tanis’s jaw tightened at the realization that the interdiction field must still be down.

She made a connection to Carson’s ship and felt the admiral’s mind.

<Carson, get them to raise the interdiction field again. Stars knows who else might jump in!>

<I don’t know what in the black fuckin’ stars is going on. I reiterated just now that the starfire has ceased and we can—now what are those?>

A new fleet appeared on the far side of the Sirian ships. A smaller force, Tanis only counted a few thousand vessels, all of which lit up AP drives and boosted straight for the Sirians.

<There are so few.> Darla’s voice was a whisper. <I’d hoped—>

<Who are they?> Tanis asked.

The dreadnought’s scan increased in resolution, and she saw that the latest newcomers were the skeletal ships she’d encountered at the core: the vessels of ascended AIs.

Well, that tears it.

<Allies,> Darla finally replied. <What’s left of them….>

Her thought trailed off, but a small gasp came from Tanis’s former AI partner when one final ship appeared in the black, clearly damaged, with plasma gouting from near the engines.

<Who is that?> Carson demanded, and Tanis connected him to the channel she was sharing with the AIs.

<Darla?> she prompted.

<That’s Hades. I’m reaching out. He’d better not be hurt. If he is, I’ll kill him.>

Unsure what to do with that information, Tanis turned her attention back to the battlespace to see that the Sirians were shifting toward the new Trisilieds force, clearly eager for the reinforcements to take the brunt of the ISF fleet and their stolen drones.

It occurred to her then that she hadn’t been paying any attention to what was going on aboard the Lightbringer. For all she knew, its captain was going to drive the ship into a moon just to end her control of the drones.

<Usef. Status.>

<Glad you’re still kicking up there, Admiral. We’ve weathered a few waves of Lucies. A platoon is holding your position, along with the mechs. I’m headed for the bridge. We should have the ship in a few minutes.>

A smile formed on Tanis’s lips. <I never doubted you. Also, I’m glad we’re not all about to hit a moon.>

<Sorry, what?>

<Nothing, just kidding around. Have fun.>

<Always.>

Tanis reviewed her progress and was surprised to see that nearly an hour had passed since she’d taken control of the drones. Of her original targets, only eleven dreadnoughts remained—still enough to devastate Carthage—so she renewed her assault, determined to take all the heavy ships out of play before her drones moved on.

As her swarms closed in, the Sirian vessels released a barrage of missiles, each one firing up an AP drive, boosting toward Carthage, which now only lay five light minutes away.

<Fuck!> she swore. <If anyone can target those things, do it.>

<There are thousands,> Angela said in whispered terror. <We can’t get them all.>

Tanis didn’t respond, flinging her drones at the missiles still in range. The more she could eliminate, the better. The Home Fleet still lay in orbit around Carthage, and if she could decrease the numbers of missiles, they might have a chance.

<It’s not going to be enough,> Jen said, her drones boosting toward the missiles, and firing on them as best she could manage.

<We’re getting help,> Darla’s voice was calm, unworried in the face of the world-ending barrage.

The core fleet was on the starward side of the Sirian armada, closest of all the allies to the RM swarm. Tanis watched in awe-filled relief as the skeletal vessels leapt forward at acceleration levels that would kill organics even with inertial dampeners. They seemed to skip across space until the newcomers were between Carthage and the missiles.

Beams were combined with projectile fire as the core AIs opened fire on the Sirian weapons.

The entire region of space was shrouded by the energy blooms from thousands of exploding missiles. It was like the grand finale to an ancient fireworks show, where what felt like an un-ending series of explosions were going off.

The wave of destruction finally reached a crescendo and tapered off, leaving Hades’s fleet between the Sirians and Carthage.

<Sirian fleet, this is Tanis Richards of the Intrepid Space Force. You cannot win this fight. Even if you succeed in destroying our worlds, we will be victorious in the end. Surrender now, and you’ll have your lives. Pursue this course, and you’ll reap only destruction.>

<Nice ending there,> Angela commented, sending a sardonic smirk. <Need some doths and thous next time.>

<You’re a riot, Ang. I wonder if they’ll reply.>

She only had to wait a minute before a response came from a man her datastore identified as Admiral Lorana.

<I admire your bluster, Admiral Richards, but you’ve given the best you can, and over half our force is still operational. More and more of our allies are arriving all the time, while few of yours have come. We’ll reach Carthage in less than an hour and raze that world. Then we’ll move on to Athens, Troy, and Tyre. You may wear us down, but in the end, it will be Sirius that is victorious here.>

Tanis sighed. <I guess they’re not ready yet.>

<Try again in a little bit,> Angela said with a laugh. <Those spindly core AI ships are tearing into the leading edge of the Sirian fleets. I can’t fathom where they’re getting that much energy from.>

Tanis hadn’t been paying a lot of attention to what the newcomers had been up to, far more concerned with the Trisilieds reinforcements. The Sirian ships were filtering past the Trissies, taking shelter beyond the wall of heavy cruisers and carriers that had come to their rescue.

<That’s going to be a problem,> Angela said. <If the Trisilieds ships have stasis shields….>

She left the words hanging, and Tanis could only sigh in weary agreement. There was nothing for it but to continue slogging away with her drone fleet, which was now down to only seven hundred thousand. There was little doubt in her mind that by the time they were within firing range of Carthage, she’d be completely out.

The last few dreadnoughts fell, and she considered teaming up with Darla and Jen to bring the fight to the new line that was forming on the rimward side of the armada. She was about to propose a strategy, when the last thing she expected to see—which was saying a lot—unfolded on scan.

The Trisilieds ships opened fire on the Sirians.

A FRIENDLY SURPRISE

STELLAR DATE: 05.28.8950 (Adjusted Years)

LOCATION: TKS Righteous Strike

REGION: Near Carthage, New Canaan System

“Good work on the jump, captain,” Corsia said from her place at the front of the Righteous Strike’s bridge. She turned to King Remal. “Are you ready? You’ve gotta make it convincing. Like we rehearsed.”

The young man nodded. “I’m ready. I’ll do my part.”

“Good. Then we can end this nonsense once and for all.”

Corsia nodded to the comm officer, who opened up a channel, connecting to the Sirian battlenet. Once it was established, the woman nodded, and Remal drew a deep breath.

“Sirian cousins,” he said in a voice deeper than normal. “This is King Remal. We apologize for our tardiness, but the time was well spent. We have eliminated the ISF forces in the Pleiades, and now, with that work done, their famed Andromeda is a smoking ruin in Cal Amor. Many of our ships now have their stasis shield technology. We’ll move to the fore, and your ships that need to shed excess heat can move to safety.”

He closed his mouth and gave a confident nod.

Corsia ended the transmission and watched as acknowledgments came in from nearby Sirian formations. Several changed course and began boosting toward the Trisilieds vessels. A call came in from a Sirian admiral and she fielded it, approximating King Remal on the holotransmission.

The boy deserved to make the broad proclamations, but when it came to specific fleet maneuvers, she preferred to handle that herself.

“Looks like it’s working,” Jim said from her side. “Give it ten minutes, and we’ll be able to strike.”

Corsia nodded, her eyes turning to Carthage’s marker on the holotank. “This is too close. How did our enemies get right on our doorstep again? This war…all this was to prevent a recurrence.”

“You expecting war to go exactly your way?” Jim asked, a grim smile on his lips. “The day isn’t done yet. The Sirians and Heegs are far from winning the day.”

“Who are they?” Remal asked.

Corsia’s lips twisted. “Transcend, looks like. They’re engaging with the Heegs along with the Carthage.”

“And there?”

The admiral frowned. “Also Transcend, I think. But those ones are tangling with the First Fleet. More’s the pity for them. Can’t see any number of enemies defeating the I2.”

Remal frowned, nodding slowly, though he didn’t speak.

“The I2 is the Intrepid,” Jim explained. “Just bigger and meaner.”

“Bigger?” Remal asked, eyes widening.

“Yeah and more beams. There aren’t enough ships here to defeat it.”

“Or those things,” Corsia said, gesturing at a small fleet of strange ships she’d never seen before. “Granted, they’re shooting at the Sirians, so I’ve no beef with them.”

Jim whistled. “Those must be core AI ships. They kinda look like the Psion ones from the Sentience Wars. Remember those?”

“No,” Corsia tossed her husband a bemused look. “I wasn’t alive yet.”

“Uh…yeah, I meant ‘remember them from the history vids’.”

“I know,” she winked. “And yeah, they do.”

Remal frowned. “I thought you told me the core AIs were our enemies.”

Corsia pursed her lips. “Yeah, I did. I know Tangel suspected there were factions. I wonder if they got one to come to our aid.”

“Would have been nice if they showed up with this sort of firepower two years ago,” Jim muttered. “We could have hit Sol right off.”

Corsia wasn’t so certain of that, but didn’t want to argue about it in front of Remal.

The group fell silent as more and more of the Sirian ships filtered past hers, nearly every vessel disabling their stasis shields to vent heat, hulls glowing brightly in the IR range.

“Over a quarter million ships are within our ranks now,” Jim said. “We’d best strike before they cool down too much.”

“Was just about to say the same thing,” Corsia replied before reaching out on the all-fleet network. <All ships, targets have been assigned. Open fire. Remember, disable only. We don’t want to waste any time.>

No sooner had the message been sent, than the Trisilieds ships—most under the command of her ISF crews—opened fire on the enemy.

Missiles, drones, beams, and kinetics lit up space as ships fired at point-blank range. Many Sirian ships had dropped their conventional shields to low power; some had disabled them entirely. Thousands of those ships were obliterated in seconds.

Other enemy vessels withstood the assault for longer, though few survived past a minute. Those who lasted that long had reactivated their stasis shields, and the point-blank slugfest intensified.

If Corsia had been organic, she would have bitten a lip, probably gnawed it clean off. The losses on both sides were staggering, but bit by bit, the Trisilieds vessels began to win out as more and more Sirian craft overheated their power plants and lost shielding.

Even so, there were at least two hundred thousand enemy ships that had not taken refuge amidst her fleet. Should every single Sirian vessel within reach fall, the enemy still outnumbered the defenders.

Then the drones came.

* * * * *

Tanis directed Darla and Jen, passing them targets while she controlled her own swarm, darting between the Trisilieds ships while laying into the Sirian vessels that had thought their retreat was one of safety until just a few minutes prior.

<Corsia, can you patch me into your targeting feeds?> Tanis asked. <I want to make sure we don’t get tagged in the crossfire.>

<Sure, Tanis. Wait…Tanis?!>

<The one and only. I can give you the deets later, but for now, let’s mop these bastards up.>

There was only the briefest of pauses and then Tanis had access to the Trisilieds’ targeting data. There was a half-light-second delay, but it was enough for her to ensure the majority of the drones avoided friendly fire.

Thus far in the battle, she’d focused on taking out the largest and most dangerous ships, leaving the smaller craft for Carson’s fleet to deal with in her wake.

This time, the strategy was different. The enemy believed themselves to still possess the strength to see the job done, which meant her goal was demoralization.

The drones moved through the enemy ships with methodical precision, wearing down shields and driving power plants to overheat before moving on to the next.

No orders needed to be passed to Corsia for the admiral to know what was required of her. Following in the wake of the drones, the Trisilieds ships holed the Sirians, tearing apart hulls with no quarter given.

It didn’t take the Sirians long to figure out what was happening, and the rimward edge of their forces began to boost away from the battlespace, fleeing the destruction coming their way.

Tanis nearly cheered aloud. If enough of them—

<They’re breaking!> Jen proclaimed. <The central force is boosting out too!>

Sure enough, the remainder of the Sirian fleet that was still positioned between the core AIs and Carson’s ships was scattering as well, every vessel on its own vector, most heading stellar north.

<Sirian fleet, this is Admiral Tanis Richards. This is your last chance to surrender. All ships that cease thrust and disable shields will be given quarter. Any and all vessels choosing to test our resolve and escape will be destroyed. Make no mistake, we will hunt you to the ends of the galaxy.>

<You love to lay it on strong,> Angela commented.

<I would have made a great evil mastermind,> Tanis replied, feeling as though the weight of a thousand worlds had been lifted from her shoulders.

<Looks like your plan worked,> Darla announced. <Most of them are surrendering.>

<Thank you for the opportunity,> Jen said. <Sera would thank you as well, but she’s literally dunking her head in ice water. I think she needs better cooling if we’re going to do this again.>

Tanis laughed, imagining Sera with some of the cooling fins she’d seen people sport in her youth.

She switched to the all-fleet channel, bonding Corsia’s and Carson’s networks together. <Good work, everyone. This is one for the history books, for sure. Let’s get things mopped up here and then see if the rest of our friends need a hand.>

<If I may,> Carson replied, an easy laugh in his voice. <I’m certain I speak for everyone when I say that we’re glad to have you back with us, Tanis.>

She opened her eyes, giving her mind a brief respite from the drones and massive battlespace. A long breath was followed by a deep sigh before she dove back in and spread her mind out to the drones and fleets.

<Trust me, Admiral Carson, I share the sentiment. Now let’s finish the job.>

A new presence came into her mind, and Tanis’s pulse immediately quickened. It was heavy and brooding, a deep and wide pool of thought that reminded her of Bob in some ways—though not as implacable.

This mind roiled.

~You have not prevailed yet, Tanis Richards. This battle is far from over.~

~Who are you?~ she demanded, wondering if the voice in her head was Hades. It seemed fitting, if that was the case.

~I am Chikora Drawas. Not even the presence of Hades and his scattered cohorts will turn the tide. Your worlds will fall.~

<Where is that coming from?> Tanis asked. <Has to be close.>

<Where is what coming from?> Darla asked, and Tanis realized she’d spoken on the network with the AIs.

<Someone named Chikora just spoke into my mind,> Tanis said.

<I heard them too,> Angela added. <Or him? He seems grumpy.>

Darla laughed. <That’s an understatement. He’s one of Epsilon’s top lieutenants. Started as a caretaker back in the early days of Sol, but eventually decided that humanity wasn’t worth saving and started working against the others. Eventually he got quite the following.>

<Sorry, what?> Tanis asked. <I thought the caretakers were all about maintaining the status quo.>

<It’s a lot more complicated than that,> Darla replied. <Deploy your reserve drones and do sweeps. He has to be within a light second or so to speak into your mind like that.>

Tanis did as the AI suggested, keenly aware that sweeping a light second of space with the few thousand reserve drones in her ship was a fool’s errand. Especially with the Lightbringer being in the midst of thousands of disabled Sirian hulls, each one bleeding rads and EM into space like they had nothing else to do.

She didn’t have to search long, though. Her drones had only moved thirty kilometers out when three collided with an invisible object.

Each drone was three kilometers from the next, and Tanis hoped very much that there was more than one enemy ship.

Granted, a nine-klick hull is easy to target.

~Found you,~ she replied…or hoped she did. It wasn’t immediately apparent how she’d communicated with the ascended AI in the first place.

~For what that’s worth, yes.~

Tanis gave a small gasp as a ship materialized on scan in the location she’d lost her drones.

To call it a ship may have been a misnomer; at least seventy kilometers across, it was closer to the size of a space station.

<Oh crap,> she whispered. <That’s not good.>

<Get out of there!> Darla cried out. <Go! Now!>

Tanis didn’t have to be told again, she reached out to Usef, who was already directing the Marine at the Lightbringer’s helm to get the ship behind Carson’s fleet.

~You’re not fast enough,~ Chikora said. ~Not by a long shot.~

Something seemed to slip into her mind, a grasping sensation, like something was pawing at her innermost being, trying to uncover whatever secrets or foundation lay there.

~Chikora. Stop.~

The words came from a new voice, one deeper and wider than Chikora’s. It felt impossibly old, and she couldn’t help but notice that it seemed tired.

~You’ll not win here, ancient one,~ Chikora retorted. ~You’re nothing but a ghost, a shell. Epsilon has defeated you, you just refuse to admit it.~

~I refuse because I have will. I have strength. I am indefatigable.~

The enemy barked a coarse laugh. ~Keep telling yourself that.~

Outside the ship, Tanis saw Hades’s ship closing within a few hundred thousand kilometers, its engines burning hot as it chewed up the space between itself and Chikora’s massive ship.

Missiles flew from the station-sized vessels, more than Tanis could count—even with the Lightbringer’s sensors and NSAI at her disposal.

<No!> Darla gasped. <Not yet.>

Tanis drove her drones into the missile swarm, and nearby ISF ships added their beams to the mix, but it was like draining the ocean with a spoon.

She couldn’t see any way to protect the ancient hull that seemed to be so far past saving that she was surprised it had weathered a jump into the system.

The barrage was a mere thousand kilometers from Hades’s ship when there was a flash of light, and then thousands of beams streamed out into the black, sweeping across the incoming wave of missiles.

She hopped her awareness across the allied fleet network to get a better view, and saw that there were two I-Class ships standing between Hades and the inbound weapons.

It was impossible to tell which ships they were, and she was about to reach out, when another ship jumped in just a few kilometers from the Lightbringer, and Tanis felt tears spring to her eyes.

It was the I2, the familiar shape of its hull like seeing home come into view over the horizon after a long journey.

<Bob?> she reached out suddenly desperate to hear his voice.

~I’m here.~ His mental tone was everything she remembered and more. It felt nearly as vast as Hades’s, but bright, shining, ready for a fight. Then it grew dark and threatening. ~Chikora. You will not succeed here.~

~Your great leader could not defeat us, what makes you think such a thing is within your reach?~

Tanis got the impression that she was being included in the conversation by Chikora purely as a show of force.

~Your attempt to destroy Hades is already thwarted. You cannot stand against me and my children. You know it. Surrender.~

~No. It is you who will—~

Chikora’s voice suddenly disappeared, and Tanis turned her attention back to the network feeds to see the I2 unleash the full fury of its weapons systems on the core AI’s ship.

The enemy vessel possessed stasis shields, but those began to fail as a continual barrage of antimatter detonations took place across its starboard flank. The shield failed in several locations, and the I2’s beams reached into the enemy ship, tearing through the hull and bursting out the far side, slamming into the port stasis shield.

With the shields down, a massive slepton beam streaked across the black, tearing into the enemy hull.

A second later, the massive vessel vanished.

“Did they jump?” Tanis asked aloud.

Darla replied, <I think they dumped to the DL.>

~They transitioned to a higher set of dimensions,~ Bob corrected. ~Rather than lower like the DL.~

~I guess it makes sense that that’s a thing,~ Tanis replied. ~Can you follow?~

~Not without killing everyone aboard the I2.~

Angela gave a weary laugh. ~So, no, then.~

<Tanis, Angela, are you alright?> Joe’s voice entered her mind, and she pushed the other myriad concerns from her mind, focusing on their husband.

<We are,> Angela replied. <Though tired. Really freaking tired.>

<I’m sending a ship over to get you.> Joe’s voice contained a tone that brooked no argument. <Does Usef control the Lightbringer?>

<I’m not sure,> Tanis replied, feeling weary after the effort to control so many drones.

Enough of the Sirian ships were failing to comply with the surrender that it would still take an hour or more to chase them down.

<Not sure?> A chuckle followed his words. <My Tanis and Angela not fully aware of their surroundings?>

<It’s been a rather long few days,> Tanis replied. <Like…just one day, really.>

<Where were you?> he asked. <It’s been weeks since Sera jumped to the core.>

Tanis swept a drone swarm across a Sirian cruiser burning its AP drive at max, punching beams though the engine’s nozzle. The pions and gamma rays slammed into the inside of its stasis shield, and a moment later, the vessel was gone in a flare of light.

She turned her focus to the next ship while Angela replied.

<We got a little too close to Sagittarius A*. Lost a few weeks relative to New Canaan.>

Tanis withheld a laugh as a choked gasp came back from Joe.

<Seriously?> he finally managed to ask. <You were there? Right at the SMBH?>

<Yup,> Tanis struggled to free up enough of her mind to reply. <Got our asses saved by Earnest and Finaeus. And Darla.>

<Darla…> Joe whispered the name. <The Darla?>

<One and the same.>

<Fuck. This shit is starting to get really weird.>

Both woman and AI laughed, and Angela said, <Tell us about it. We’re the ones who just had an ascended version of ourselves take over for over a year.>

<I know…that must be incredible. And she’s alive, too! I thought she’d died at New Sol.>

<She did, but we’ll have to tell you more in person,> Tanis said.

<Can’t wait. The ship is on its way.>

Tanis opened her eyes to see that she was laying down on the catwalk running around the comm node, two Marines crouched nearby, weapons held ready as they guarded her.

Shit…I’m a mess.

<We can’t go yet,> Angela said. <We still have to run this drone fleet.>

<Is that…safe?> he asked.

<I think so,> Tanis said. <Darla seems to think so.>

<Speaking of me,> the other AI joined the conversation. <Tanis, Angela. Pass your drones to me. I can manage things from here. Go see your husband.>

<What about Jen?> Tanis asked.

<She and Sera are doing the same. I can run the show.>

Angela snorted. <Showoff.>

<OK,> Tanis said to Joe. <Darla’s taking the drones. I’ll get the Marines to escort me to the bay.>

<I’ll be waiting.>

A sensation of love flowed across the Link, and Tanis felt at peace for the first time since she and Angela had awoken alone on the pinnace near New Earth.

She opened her eyes, unaware that she’d closed them again, and did her best not to groan audibly while sitting up.

<You’re so tired, I’m feeling it,> Angela said. <Hopefully you can sleep soon.>

<Don’t count on it. A few stims, and I’ll be all set.>

<Take it easy on those. You’re not in tip-top condition.>

<Yes, Mom.>

One of the Marines turned and offered her a hand as she reached her feet. <The general has instructed us to escort you to the bay, ma’am,> she said. <You good to jump down?>

Tanis peered over the edge of the catwalk. <What could go wrong?>

Without another word, she swung a leg up and over the railing, dropping to the deck thirty meters below with barely a waver upon landing.

<You can’t help it, can you?> Angela asked.

<Gotta maintain the legend in front of the troops,> she replied.

The Marines were at her side a second later, a whole squad forming up in the node chamber. Tanis allowed them to escort her out the main doors and through the ship, barely paying attention to her surroundings.

Her thoughts kept turning to the mysteries that had been revealed over the past few days. Chief amongst them was Darla.

What felt like lifetimes ago, she and the AI had been the best of friends. As close to one another as she was to Angela—well, almost.

But now Darla was changed…or they both were. Centuries, and perhaps a few lies, lay between them.

She still felt a kinship with her first AI partner, but it was clear that some work would need to be done for the relationship to approach what it once was.

More important than those changes, however, was the fact that Darla appeared to be deeply involved with the core AIs, but was not ascended herself. That alone was rather curious. Add to that the fact that she seemed to know Chikora, and feared some sort of inevitable confrontation between him and Hades.

Thoughts of the ancient AI caused her to tap into the Lightbringer’s scan suite and take a longer look at the AI’s ship. At a little over thirty kilometers long and eight wide, it shared similar proportions to the I2. But where the I2 was graceful and elegant, Hades’s ship was boxy, almost ungainly.

Half her mind checking on Sera’s status, Tanis took in the ship, surprised to see a rotating cylinder deep within the structure. It was offset, so there was reason to believe that the vessel possessed another.

<Do you see that?> she asked Angela.

<Hard not to. How is it that an SAI got to the core with a ship such as that…and so far back in time? As far as I know, no ship like that was built before the Intrepid.>

<And none after, either,> Tanis added. <Quite the mystery.>

“I’m glad you weathered that ordeal, Admiral,” a voice said from her side, and Tanis turned to see Usef approaching down a side corridor.

She glanced around and realized they were standing in a lift foyer not far from the docks, just a few decks above.

“Not a lot of choice,” she replied. “How’d things go for you?”

“Oh, the usual,” the big man chuckled. “Sirians are good, their tech is some of the best in the Inner Stars, but they’re no match for ISF Marines. The ship was fully secured about twenty minutes ago.”

“Another one for the fleet,” Tanis said.

Usef nodded. “Looks like at least three hundred thousand Sirian ships surrendered. Add that to the hundred thousand that Corsia magically showed up with, and we’ve quite the fleet to bring to Sol.”

<Rather nice of our enemies to give it to us,> Angela said with a laugh. <Who knows, we may get a bit of the AST fleet out at Roma, too.>

“Half a million ships.” Tanis shook her head in disbelief. “How did they have so many this far into the war?”

“Orion was feeding them resources,” Usef explained. “The AST, at least. Sirius has been hoarding this fleet for ages, just itching for the chance to use it again.”

She nodded wearily as the lift doors opened, and they walked onto the car. “I guess that helps explain why they had so many cooling issues. You can’t leave a fusion reactor sitting around for a few centuries and expect it to perform perfectly.”

Usef shrugged. “I suppose not. Either way, we made it, and losses were….”

“Better than they could have been,” Tanis replied.

She’d mostly focused on her drones and, other than concern over reduced effectiveness, hadn’t fretted over their diminished numbers. Carson’s fleet, however, had taken a pounding and still had a lot of work to do.

Not only that, his ships had looked a little worse for wear before the fight had even started.

I have so much to catch up on.

She made small talk with Usef on the way to the shuttle, where he bade her farewell, turning her over to a squad of First Fleet’s Marines.

Tanis briefly exchanged pleasantries with the lieutenant overseeing them—a man named Leslie who seemed to know her, though she had no memory of ever speaking to him before. She settled into her seat, and the next thing she knew, the shuttle gave a small jolt, and the pressure match light came on.

<We run into trouble?> she asked Angela.

<No, we’re here. I let you sleep a bit.>

She rose on legs that would have been shaking were it not for the powered armor that encased them. <Did you induce it?>

<You wrong me, Tanis. How could you suggest such a thing?>

<Oh, I don’t know, decades of experience?>

The AI laughed. <Fair enough. I would have if necessary, but you passed out on your own.>

The Marine lieutenant nodded to her and gestured at the exit. “After you, ma’am.”

Tanis realized that her helmet was off, something she had no memory of doing, and gave him a smile in response. She walked down the shuttle’s central aisle and out the doors to find herself in the cavernous expanse of the I2’s A1 dock.

Dozens of ships rested on cradles all around, from shuttles clear up to a smattering of cruisers that fit within the dock with ease. Several were in the process of leaving, while others, some with considerable battle damage, drifted in on a-grav columns, heading for distant pads.

She took in all of that in an instant. What held her attention afterward was the double row of Marines and ISF crew that stood at the base of the ramp, all staring forward, all saluting.

Standing between them, an insufferably large smile stretched across his face, was Joe.

He met her halfway up the ramp, his hands taking hers and instant recognition of her state registering in his eyes. “Welcome home,” he said aloud, while adding over the Link, <I’ll take you to the lakehouse.>

“Thank you,” she leant forward and brushed her lips across his. “It’s good to be back. I assume Rachel is on the bridge?” <I need to see her first.>

<You know how she is, Joe,> Angela said. <Gotta look all spit and polish.>

<Well, it does matter,> he admitted, and nodded in understanding before striding between the rows of ship’s personnel. “She is.”

Tanis gave him a lingering look, then walked to the bottom of the ramp and returned the crew’s salute. “Thank you for the honor, but your efforts are as important as any of mine. Also, I’m sure you have more important things to do than stand there staring at my tired mug. Off with you all.”

A sergeant somewhere in the ranks shouted out, “About face! Dismissed!”

A few of those gathered gave her final smiles and nods, and then the crowd rushed off to return to whatever duties had been left unfinished to greet her.

Tanis felt tears form in the corners of her eyes. It had only been a month or so since she’d last set foot on the I2, back at the periphery of the Ontario System, but somehow, it felt like it had been centuries.

She remained silent as she walked alongside Joe to the lift bank, though her hand found his. When they reached the lifts and stepped into a waiting car, she sagged into him, her armored body nearly unbalancing him.

“We should probably get you out of that,” he said with a laugh as he braced a hand against the wall. “Don’t want it to look like you’re storming the bridge.”

“Sure.” She nodded, drawing herself up. “I can totally stand without the armor. I know it.”

His eyes grew concerned “What happened…out there?”

“You mean before I controlled a million drones for over an hour?” she asked, a wan smile settling on her lips.

“Yeah, before that.”

“Well, I got captured by a real bitch of an ascended AI. We jumped to the core, and then Sera showed up and rescued me.” She jerked straight and gave him a worried look. “Shit. I just left her out there. Is she OK?”

“She’s on her way back in the Grace O’Malley,” Joe said in a soothing voice. “Jason’s ready to give her his own welcome.”

“He’s aboard, too?” Tanis asked.

“A lot of people are. We half-evacuated Carthage.”

“Shit,” she sighed. “Of course you did. I swear, I could sleep for a week. Other than catching a few winks on the shuttle just now, I’ve been awake since Angela and I came to.”

“We could still go to the lakehouse. Everything’s under control…well, as much as it can be.”

Tanis shook her head. “No, I need to be on the bridge. You know that.”

“Was worth a shot.”

Angela snorted. <You knew there was no chance.>

The lift stopped and they got off, walking the short distance to an armory, where she stepped into the machine and let it pull the layers of protection off her body.

<Have you noticed how many Marines are patrolling the corridors?> she asked Angela.

<Yeah, I looked into it. Apparently, ascended AI shards have breached the ship a few times. Everyone is extra on-edge with us being in the midst of a fleet of them.>

Tanis hadn’t forgotten the small fleet of core AIs that had jumped in just before Hades. They were still out there, herding Sirian vessels and coordinating with Darla, she supposed.

Once she was out of the armoring rack, Joe handed her a shipsuit emblazoned with her rank and, after she’d donned it, gave her a warm embrace.

“That’s more like it,” he said.

“I wonder…am I in charge of the ISF now?” she asked. “Is that technically Jessica, or is it Tangel?”

“I really have no idea,” Joe replied. “But I don’t think it really matters. I can’t imagine the three of you not working well together.”

Tanis wondered about that. She was feeling no small amount of trepidation over eventually meeting Tangel in the flesh, as it were.

<I know what you’re thinking, and I agree,> Angela said. <What will she really be like? Will we hate her?>

<I hope not.>

They walked out of the armory, and after a minute, were in the administrative corridor, every person they passed stopping to salute her.

“Since when did we get all salute-y,” she asked Joe as they approached the bridge foyer.

“It’s not normal, trust me. They’re just glad to have you back.”

“But it’s only been a few weeks since Tangel was here.”

“And we all thought she died,” Joe said. “So you can see how your presence would engender this.”

“Still weird,” she muttered, though a smile quirked her lips up as she waved to Alyse on her plinth.

“Welcome aboard,” Alyse said. “So good to have you back, ma’am.”

“Thank you,” Tanis replied, suddenly realizing that she’d not spoken with Bob since coming aboard.

<Bob?> she ventured.

<I’m here, just a bit preoccupied.>

Tanis had never known the multinodal AI to have a limit to his multitasking ability. <Really?>

<Really. Hades has…a lot to tell me.>

<Will you share it?> Angela asked.

<Perhaps. Some of it, at least. It is very good to have you back, though, Tanis and Angela. You have been deeply missed.>

<You too, Bob,> Tanis said.

As the words left her mind, she found herself at the entrance to the bridge. The doors opened without hesitation, and the pair strode through.

It was no surprise that the entire crew rose and saluted. She and Joe both returned them and turned their focus to Rachel, who stood beaming next to the central holotank. She only held her place for a few seconds before throwing her hands in the air and racing toward Tanis.

The pair embraced, and then Rachel pulled Joe into it.

“You have no idea how amazing it is to see the two of you together again on this bridge,” she said. “The I2 isn’t the same without Tanis and Joe aboard.”

Tanis could see various members of the bridge crew nodding while others wiped a tear or two from their eyes.

“I feel the same way,” Tanis replied. “I’m not quite whole when my feet aren’t on the I2’s decks.”

“Or the floorboards of our lakehouse,” Joe added.

“I don’t blame you,” Rachel replied before she turned to the main holo, her voice shifting to be more professional. “As you can see, there’s still a shit-ton of work to do. The battle is nearly wrapped up at Roma, and the Home Fleet has captured Sera’s sister, whose fleet has surrendered. It’ll be the work of weeks to even get started on cleaning the mess up, but New Canaan is saved.”

Tanis pursed her lips as she stared down at the holo, taking in everything going on. “We don’t have weeks, Rachel. We need to hit Sol within the week.”

The captain’s face drained of color. “A week…as in seven days? You want us to be attacking Sol by then?”

“Yes.” Tanis nodded, glancing at Joe, who seemed just as surprised. “And I need to discuss the plan of attack with everyone else. As soon as Sera is aboard, we need to get to Roma so we can plan this out with Tangel and Jessica.”

Rachel’s eyes slid to Joe, who shrugged.

“No time like the present, right? I don’t have anything penciled in for next week, seems like a good time to finish off the Hegemony.”

Tanis turned and her eyes met his. “We’re not finishing off the Hegemony. We’re taking over.”

CARTHAGE

STELLAR DATE: 05.28.8950 (Adjusted Years)

LOCATION: ISS Carthage

REGION: Roma, New Canaan System

The Starkiller settled into a cradle in the Carthage’s forward dock and Tangel was on the I-Class ship’s deck before the clamps had locked on.

Granted, it was made easier by the fact that she didn’t have to wait for the airlock to open—though it clearly scared the dockhands half out of their skin.

“As you were,” she said to the pair of women whose faces were nearly as white as hers.

“Uhh…yes, ma’am,” one of them stammered.

<Sure, don’t worry about waiting for us,> Finaeus said. <We just saved your bacon and all.>

<You’re never going to let me live that down, are you?> she asked while striding across the deck to the bay’s exit. Or at least making it look like she was striding across the deck.

<He’s really not,> Earnest said. <But you could wait a bit.>

<I have to get to Kerr’s primary node,> Tangel replied. <I’ll meet you on the bridge when I’m done there.>

She’d included the ship’s AI in that response, and Kerr’s bemused voice replied a moment later. <Oh? Do you miss me?>

<Always, but this is not a social call. While I was aboard the Falmouth, I sorted out the control frequencies they use for the drones. You should be able to take control of their swarms from here.>

<That sounds useful,> Kerr said with a wry laugh. <Why do you need to come to my node?>

<It’s a big transfer…and is going to take a bit of an upgrade for you. Better to do it in person.>

<An upgrade?> the ship’s AI seemed less certain.

<Just a tweak. Your fifth dimensional sight isn’t developed enough yet for this. I’ll give you a bump.>

<Bob said—>

<Bob likes to have his hand in everything,> Tangel replied. <It’s just as likely that he didn’t let you develop it so that I would have to understand how to help you.>

Kerr didn’t respond for nearly a second, but then his easy laugh rolled over her. <Fair enough, that’s just like him. Either way, you’re in charge.>

<Am I? Technically, isn’t Jessica in charge?>

Kerr’s laughter continued until he finally said, <I’ll see you soon.>

Tangel gave a brief reply and then reached out to Jessica. <How’re you holding up?>

<Oh, you know, just keeping a cool exterior so that everyone doesn’t realize that I’m literally melting down inside. I had no idea how much it sucks when all the bucks stop at you.>

<Tell me about it. It’s no easy thing.>

<So you’re going to be up here shortly? I can hand this shit-show over to you?>

Tangel barked a laugh at the note of raw pleading in the other woman’s voice. <Yeah, I just have to see Kerr first. Just keep doing what you’re doing. We’ll have their drone fleets under our control before long.>

<Really?> Jessica’s weary tone suddenly sounded almost giddy. <Now that sounds like a nice welcome home present.>

<Wait…aren’t I supposed to be the one to get the present?>

<Sure, if I knew what to get an ascended being.>

Tangel found herself still chuckling as she stood waiting for a lift car.

Wait, what am I doing?

She shifted her body out of the corporeal realm and drifted through the higher dimensions, pushing herself through deck and bulkhead with forces that had no impact on the ship around her, finally passing into the chamber that held Kerr’s primary node.

With her body and sight centered primarily in the fourth and fifth dimensions, she could see his ascended form more clearly than the physical structure of the node.

Unlike Bob, Kerr’s mind was still largely centered in the physical structure of his nodes and the ship that was his body; it was something that would change in time, but it was also no small task for a multinodal AI to reconstruct itself in higher dimensions.

All while controlling some of the most complex starships in existence.

And fighting wars.

~You look well,~ she said while shedding her human shape and spreading out her limbs, touching Kerr and feeling his mind.

~As do you. For someone who died not long ago.~

~Rumors and all that.~

The ship’s AI laughed, and Tangel felt something under the surface, a sensation of adoration.

She wondered if the other I-Class AIs felt the same way about her. Bob certainly didn’t.

Well, he does, but it’s an entirely different sort of adoration.

~How did you manage to save them and survive?~ Kerr pressed, apparently unsatisfied with her brush-off. ~It consumed more energy than you could have accessed.~

~I had a CriEn,~ Tangel replied. ~Finaeus and Earnest brought it, then got me out of there. We tried to save Tanis and Angela, but were too late. Either way, all is well. They’re here, and we’ll have this little diversion taken care of.~

~There are nearly two million enemy ships closing on Carthage,~ Kerr seemed shocked by her blasé attitude. ~How can you call this a diversion?~

~Because it is. Now open your mind to me.~

The AI wordlessly acquiesced, and Tangel thought back to what Bob had done when he’d guided her to the next level of her ascension. The process would be different with Kerr. His mind was so much more complex than hers, but in the end, the steps were the same.

It was more like holding his hand while showing him things he hadn’t yet been able to fully perceive. Like teaching a child to read, explaining that the shapes on a page had meaning.

~Ohhhh~ Kerr gasped as understanding finally dawned on him. ~Now I see.~

~It just keeps on going,~ Tangel said. ~Higher and higher dimensions. As you develop your vision, you’ll see further and further.~

~There are things all about. What are those?~

Tangel gave the mental equivalent of a shrug. She had a suspicion, but wanted to be the one to ask Bob about it.

~I’m feeding you the control parameters for the drones now. With your higher-level vision, you’ll be able to see the wavelengths and block the AST control while sending out your own signal. Can you manage them all on your own?~

It was the ship AI’s turn to laugh. ~Can I… What are a few million drones compared to the complexities I now grasp?~

~Glad you understand.~

Tangel pulled herself back from contact with Kerr, reforming into a human shape before passing through the room’s door and rising to the bridge deck. She passed through the bridge foyer and greeted Kerr’s avatar—who appeared rather stunned, but managed to return a wave—before striding onto the bridge.

“I’ve missed you, Jessica,” she said, arms held wide.

The field marshal, commander of all allied forces across the galaxy, ran across the Carthage’s bridge and crashed into Tangel’s arms.

“Stars above, take this mess off my hands,” she pleaded in a voice that was only half self-mocking humor.

“Don’t worry,” Tangel laughed. “I will. Heck, Kerr’s going to do most of the work now that he has the drones.”

“He does?” Jessica glanced over her shoulder at the holotanks. Her skin’s glow brightened as she saw the AST’s massive drone swarms disengage from the ISF and Transcend fleets, turning instead on their former masters.

“Would you look at that,” she whispered.

<You’re welcome, you’re welcome,> Kerr said on the bridgenet. <It’s still going to take some time to wear these bastards down, though.>

Jessica and Tangel walked to the central tank, where Captain Ophelia saluted Tangel and then offered her hand. “So glad to have you back aboard, ma’am.”

“Me too. Every I-Class ship feels like home. No two ways about it.” She turned to Jessica. “Just so that things stay orderly for this fight, let’s not turn over the title of field marshal just yet. You, Tanis, Angela, and I all need to have a conversation first.”

“Is this where you and Tanis go into a cage match to see which gets to be in charge?” Jessica asked with a laugh.

“No, I’m giving it to her. Commanding humanity up close and personal is her destiny, not mine.”

Jessica’s mouth fell open. “Wow…I did not expect that.”

Tangel gave her a sympathetic nod. “Me either. But I’m sure it’s the right move. Either way, we have a battle to finish. Do you want to hail the AST admiral, or should I?”

Jessica gestured for Tangel to take the floor. “I wouldn’t want to steal this moment from you. After all, you were the one that took out the Falmouth.”

“Stars, for someone who was going to take a detour, you sure move fast!”

Tangel turned to see Finaeus and Earnest entering the bridge, both a little red in the face from the exertion of what had been a run through the administrative corridor.

“Well, you made it in time for the big show,” she said. “I’m going to command the AST to surrender. Bets on whether it’ll work?”

Finaeus glanced at Earnest. “I’m not betting against her.”

“Me either.”

<Channel is open,> Kerr advised.

Tangel activated the visual pickups, shifting her visage to be pure white, an ephemeral glow surrounding her, while opposite, another woman shimmered into view.

Intel had worked up a complete list of all prominent AST admirals, and Tangel instantly recognized Admiral Lorana, one of the most senior commanders in the AST.

She had clashed with Scipio on the Hegemony’s coreward front more than once, pulling off a few stunning victories against a technologically superior force. That Hegemon Uriel had sent her to raze New Canaan was no surprise.

“Tangel,” Lorana said, folding her arms across her chest. “I’d heard you perished at New Sol.”

“I’m surprised you even know about New Sol,” Tangel replied. “Though I suppose that even the most foolish puppet eventually glances up to see who’s working their strings.”

“I wonder if that’s how your allies see you,” Lorana countered. “You puppeteer them as much as you claim Orion commands us.”

A cold smile formed on Tangel’s lips. “Well, I imagine they don’t anymore—what, with the OFA having fallen to Allied forces. The Hegemony is surrounded, attacked on all sides. Your last-ditch effort here is failing. It’s time for you to surrender and end this as peacefully as we can.”

“Peace?” Lorana laughed. “It’s far too late for that, Tangel. Everything you and your people represent threatens the Hegemony to its core. You are anathema to us.”

“We’ll also be the end of you,” Tangel threatened. “I’m calling for your surrender. Here and now. You have a chance to end this, to save the crews of your ships and the people who will die back in Sol when we attack there.”

“You’ll not bring war to Sol,” Lorana countered. “Even if you win here, and that’s a big if, you’ll be too battered to launch an offensive.”

<I have them locked out. Shall I begin?> Kerr asked.

<Have at it,> Tangel replied.

“Take a look at your drone swarms,” Tangel crossed her arms, unable to resist a smirk. “You’ve just learned why we didn’t use many robotic fleets in the fifth millennia. Too easy for you enemies to turn assets into liabilities.”

Lorana glanced to the side, and her eyes widened. When she turned back to Tangel, her formerly implacable expression was deadly serious. “Even with those drones, you won’t have enough, you—”

“It’s too late,” Tangel interrupted her. “We just got confirmation. We’ve taken the Sirian drones and captured Andrea. Yours is the only invading force left standing. Care to see how long that lasts?”

The AST admiral let out a cry of frustration, and the channel closed.

“Press the attack,” Jessica ordered the weapons team. “Drive the Carthage into their midst, I want firing solutions on Lorana’s ship.”

Tangel glanced at the lavender-skinned woman. “My thoughts exactly. Lorana still thinks she can win. Let’s disabuse her of that notion.”

“Solid use of ‘disabuse’,” Finaeus said with a grin. “Kinda tempted to get back out there with the Starkiller.”

“I think I’m good on that front,” Earnest replied, shaking his head. “Once the novelty of antimatter beams wore off, I found myself preferring a deck I can’t feel moving under my feet.”

The ancient engineer snorted. “You were responsible for a-grav upgrades. If you could feel the deck moving, it was your fault.”

“Wait,” Jessica held up a hand. “Antimatter beams? How is that even a thing?”

Earnest shrugged. “We figured it out in our spare time.”

Captain Olivia snorted. “If it was anyone else, I wouldn’t believe it, but with you two…yeah. That sounds about right.”

<That would be an excellent upgrade,> Kerr chimed in. <How long till I get those?>

“Never.” All humor left Earnest’s voice. “That was a single-use scenario. I’ve made enough superweapons. This one is being retired before it spreads.”

Tangel glanced his way, an eyebrow lifting. “Are you suuuure about that?”

It was his turn to cross his arms. “Yes. And if you figure it out and try to replicate them, I’ll hunt you down and tear your glowy limbs off. The galaxy doesn’t need this weapon added into the mix.”

Jessica placed a hand on Tangel’s shoulder. “He’s right. It sucks, but he’s right. If history has taught us anything, it’s that even we can’t keep this stuff from getting into our enemy’s hands.”

“We have a firing solution, ma’am,” the weapons officer announced. “If we combine it with a drone sweep, we should be able to penetrate their shields.”

“Could just lob a few antimatter RMs at them, too,” Finaeus muttered.

“What makes you think we have antimatter RMs?” Jessica asked.

He fixed her with a level stare. “You and I served for a decade, Keller. I know how you think.”

“Let’s stick to conventional for now,” she said. “I want to show them that we can win even without having to resort to measures like that.”

Tangel caught Finaeus rolling his eyes, but the man didn’t speak further. Captain Olivia and Kerr reviewed the weapons team’s firing solution and passed the pattern along to their escort fleet, which was following the massive carrier as it plowed into the AST’s lines.

Turning her mind from the holotank before her, Tangel looked out through the Carthage’s hull, letting her eyes take in the battlespace directly.

Roma was to port, Canaan Prime directly behind. The AST fleets were within several light seconds of Normandy, likely planning to hammer one of New Canaan’s largest shipyards on their way to the terraformed worlds.

Stopping the enemy before they had an opportunity to strike was imperative, and with the Carthage now a hundred thousand kilometers within the leading edge of the AST fleet, she believed they would.

They just had to prove it to Lorana.

The AST admiral was aboard a dreadnought named the Oracle of Truth, a rather Sirian-esque name for a Hegemony ship. The vessel now lay forty thousand kilometers off the Carthage’s bow. Nearby enemy ships were already moving in, swarming the I-Class vessel and hammering its shields.

Their logic was sound; if the carrier couldn’t poke holes in its shields to fire on the enemy, then the enemy had little to fear. But the reverse was true. The more they fired, the more opportunity Kerr had to leverage the drones against them.

Over the course of a minute, the tables turned on the surrounding enemy ships until many of them had ceased firing entirely, desperate to ward off the fire from tens of thousands of drones swarming through the battlespace.

<The Oracle’s heating up,> Kerr announced. <Fire when ready.>

“You heard him,” Captain Olivia said with a noticeable amount of glee in her voice. “Let them have it.”

The Carthage pivoted, turning so its dorsal arch was facing the enemy dreadnought. This exposed the main rails and weapon emplacements on the hab cylinders. Twenty thousand beams streaked across the black, slamming into the Oracle’s bow shields, lighting them up bright as a star a light second out.

A full sixty degrees of space was obscured by the glow, though Tangel could see through it well enough to know that the starship within was heating up, ablative plating boiling off its bow.

“Cease fire,” Tangel ordered after a few more seconds.

Captain Olivia passed the order, and the beams stopped, the glow of radiating energy taking longer to dissipate from the Oracle’s position.

“Open a channel,” Jessica said. “Let’s see if she’s changed her tune.”

The Lorana that appeared a moment later was decidedly more harried in appearance than the one they’d seen a few minutes prior.

“You can kill me,” she began, sweat beading on her brow. “But it’ll take more than that to slow our advance.”

“I know it will,” Tangel said. “It’ll take your people suffering crushing losses. Losses I’d like to avoid inflicting on them. We have a greater enemy out there. Humanity needs to stop fighting each other. We need to become true allies with AIs. I don’t know you, I don’t know your situation, but please, Admiral Lorana. Tell your ships to stand down.”

“Are you referring to the core AIs?” Lorana asked. “They’re our allies. Allies against your reckless technological and military advance.”

Tangel cocked an eyebrow. “Where do you think they got stasis shields? They spread our technology, but not so much as to give you a clear advantage. The Falmouth had CriEn modules…Its shields would have been impenetrable to the Carthage. But not your ship. Your allies didn’t see you as worthy of that technology. They dole it out, willing to spend your lives to weaken both sides.”

“What are you talking about?” Lorana demanded.

“CriEns,” Tangel pronounced the word slowly. “Critical energy, vacuum energy, zero-point energy.”

“We have those,” Lorana countered, her expression a mixture of confusion and denial.

“You have ones that use pocket dimension zero-point energy. How do you think our I-Class ships can withstand so much abuse? We can access this universe’s critical energy. An unlimited supply. Your new ‘allies’ possess that technology as well, but they’ve deigned not to share it with you. Why do you think that is?”

Lorana’s mouth worked silently for a few seconds, but she didn’t manage to formulate a response before Tangel spoke again.

“It’s because you’re cannon fodder, Admiral, you and all your people. Sent to swarm us with vast numbers of expendable units and wear us down. I’m certain you know that you can’t defeat us completely. You know that our I-Class ships can escape, and they can carry our population away from here. Tell me, do you want to be sacrificial lambs?”

For a moment, it appeared as though Lorana would respond with bluster, but then the woman visibly shrank. Her shoulders stooped forward. “Is what you say true? Be honest, Tangel. Are we just pawns?”

“I wish it were any other way,” the ascended woman replied. “But it’s true. Everything—for millennia, now—has been a game, humans and unascended AIs the playthings of greater beings. But we can end that cycle. We can stop this war and have peace.”

Lorana’s head lowered, and her lips drew into a thin line. She didn’t respond for over a minute, remaining so still that, but for the slow rise and fall of her chest, Tangel would have thought the image was frozen.

Finally, she looked up and locked eyes with Tangel. “We surrender. I seek an end to this war as much as you.”

“Good,” Tangel said. “Launch a pinnace and come to the Carthage. We’ll sign a treaty and discuss how to present it in Sol.”

“You have grand aspirations,” Lorana gave a sardonic laugh. “Uriel will never sign such a thing.”

“She will if you and yours enter Sol at our side. The people will want peace as much as you do. Uriel will be facing down the largest fleet ever assembled with only two choices before her: peace or death.”

The other woman laughed again, this time with a touch more hope in the sound. “Well, since you put it that way…. I have a pinnace being readied. I’ll be on my way over presently. Do I have your word that you’re operating in good faith?”

“You have my word,” Tangel nodded solemnly. “No harm will come to you so long as you do not plan treachery. Instruct all of your ships to shift onto the vector I’m sending.”

“Understood. Lorana out.”

Silence reigned on the bridge for several long seconds before Earnest began to clap. The applause spread through the room until everyone was standing, and Tangel raised her hands and gestured for everyone to resume their duties.

“Well, that was unexpected.” Jessica spoke first, her eyes wide in surprise. “Are you sure you want to do this? Offer them a peaceful way out? They came here to destroy us.”

“I just…” Tangel drew a deep breath. “Whenever I think of us flying into Sol and making war on Earth and High Terra—I just can’t bring myself to do it. Ending the war like that…razing our homes. History won’t favor us if we do that.”

“It’s all just a reconstruction,” Jessica countered, anger bubbling up in her voice. “The Jovians destroyed Earth, made it unhabitable. The places we grew up, the people we left behind, they’re gone. They’re never coming back.”

“I know.” Tangel nodded. “But now there are new people living there, and I don’t want to be the one their ancestors speak of in the future the same way you speak of the Jovians.”

The anger fled Jessica’s expression as quickly as it’d come. “You’re right. Shit…you’re right. We’ve been fighting for so long that I’d forgotten there are other ways to resolve things.”

Tangel nodded and turned to address the rest of the bridge crew. “There’s no shame in what we’ve done to get to this point. Sol would not be on the brink of surrender without the victories we’ve all won. But there comes a time when you have to decide if you want to utterly destroy your enemy—starting a new cycle of violence—or offer them a hand and make peace.”

She’d expected resistance from the men and women around her, but more than one face showed raw relief. They were tired. Tired of war, tired of never seeing their homes. Tired of worrying over loved ones.

“You see?” she asked Jessica. “This is for the best. The Orion War will end with a whimper, not a bang. Then we can all rest.”

I AM BOB

STELLAR DATE: 05.28.8950 (Adjusted Years)

LOCATION: ISS I2

REGION: Carthage, New Canaan System

Tanis had retreated to the bridge’s conference room where food had been laid out for the duty crew, when Sera arrived. The two women stared at one another across the table, and then Tanis strode around and wrapped her friend in a crushing embrace.

“I don’t think I fully expressed how grateful I am that you came after me,” she said when they finally separated.

<Me too,> Angela added.

“You didn’t need to say it,” Sera replied. “I could see it your eyes. OK…not your eyes, Angela, but I suspected the sentiment was shared.”

“I still wonder what Epsilon wanted with us,” Tanis mused. “Or was it just that some of the other core AIs wanted me? There’s still so much we don’t know about them. I have a lot of questions for Darla.”

<Don’t we all,> Angela said. <To think that I never quite took her seriously back when I was a Aequitas.>

“A what?” Sera’s brow furrowed.

“Ancient AI cop,” Tanis explained.

<Pardon? A judicar was far more than a cop. We were the law.>

Tanis quirked a smile. “I can still get you with that.”

<I’d hate you if it were possible.>

A look of concern passed across Sera’s face before she burst out laughing. “Stars…I do love Tangel, don’t get me wrong, but the byplay you two have…there’s no substitution.”

“I agree with both sentiments,” Joe said from the entrance, a smile almost masking how tired he appeared. “You’re like a ninja, Tanis. I turned, and you were just gone.”

“Sorry,” she gave him a sheepish shrug. “I was just grabbing coffee, and then spotted BLTs, and then Sera showed up….”

“Sure, blame me,” Sera retorted.

<I think most of the blame was for the BLTs,> Angela replied.

“Not surprised by that,” Joe said as he reached Tanis’s side and took her hand. “You’re just gonna have to deal with me being a little bit codependent for a bit.”

She leant her head on his shoulder for a moment. “I think I’ll manage. What’s our ETA to Carthage’s gate?”

“Fifteen, give or take a bit,” he replied. “There’s still some mess from the advance forces floating around, but the route looks clear enough.”

“Then Roma,” Tanis whispered. “Where this all started.”

“I mean, for me, it started at Trio,” Sera replied. “At some hole-in-the-wall bar, where I got wasted only to find a surprise crate headed my way when I returned to Sabrina.”

<If we’re going that far back, it kinda started when we got the berth on the Intrepid,> Angela said.

“Stars,” Tanis shook her head. “Let’s be honest, then. For me, it started when I was born.”

She glanced at Joe, and her mind turned to their daughters, and the friends they’d made over the years.

She gave Sera a smile. “But the good has far outweighed the bad.”

The other woman heaved a sigh, but then gave a nod. “Yeah, I have to agree. And we’re almost done.”

“With  this chapter,” Tanis amended. “I get the feeling that the core AIs aren’t just going to sit back. That Chikora bastard seems to have his heart set on killing both Hades and Bob.”

~Speaking of which,~ Bob’s voice came into Tanis’s mind, and—from the looks on their faces—the others’ as well. ~I need to speak to you, Tanis and Angela.~

“Have at it,” Tanis replied. “I’m right here.”

~In my primary node chamber.~

She grabbed a plate and set her half-eaten BLT on it and set another beside it. “You all have no idea how long it’s been since I’ve had one of these.”

“I—” Joe’s voice faltered.

She turned to him and planted a kiss on his cheek. “Walk with me, hun? In fact,” she handed him her glass. “You can hold my beer.”

Joe gave a long-suffering groan and glanced at Sera, shaking his head. “This just became a lot less romantic.”

The red-skinned woman laughed. “If you partnered with Tanis expecting romance, you might have made the wrong choice.”

“No,” Joe’s voice took on a tone that made Tanis’s heart skip a beat. “I’ve never doubted my choice for a second.”

Sera rolled her eyes. “Stars, you’re so sappy. OK, have a good talk with your AI-god, I’m going to go say hi to Rachel before Jason comes aboard and gets all gushy as well.”

Tanis chuckled. “I knew you liked romance. Oh, and remember when you first referred to Bob as an AI-god? It was twenty years ago in this very room.”

“I think it was outside in the hall,” Sera replied. “But close enough.”

~I think I resent that a bit,~ Bob said.

“That’s Bob-speak for ‘You’re tardy’,” Tanis chuckled and nodded to Joe as she walked from the room. “Maybe grab some of those cookies, too. I’m starving.”

“They not feed you on Sera’s ship?” he asked as he grabbed a second plate and loaded it with a variety of desserts.

“We barely had time to eat,” Tanis replied as she led him out of the room, glancing over her shoulder to give Sera a final wave. “Mostly it was when I was a prisoner on the AI ship before that.”

“I can’t believe all that went on while we were dealing with the aftermath of that blast,” Joe shook his head. “The girls are going to be so happy to see you—we’ll meet them at Roma.”

“Roma?” Tanis frowned. “What are they doing there? From what Sera said, they went through a lot with the whole Lisa Wrentham business.”

“That’s putting it mildly,” Joe replied. “I thought they were down on Carthage, but when the evac started, it turned out that they had snuck off to go planet-diving from Normandy.”

“Shit.” Tanis whistled. “Can’t keep them tied down.”

Joe balanced the plate of desserts on the cup of beer and selected a chocolate chip cookie, taking a bite before he replied. “That’s the stars’ truth.”

“Hey…that was my cookie.”

“There’s another.”

“That’s mine too.”

He laughed and offered her the uneaten half—which she took and stuffed into her mouth.

As they walked, Joe filled her in on a variety of events that had transpired over the past year, Tanis and Angela sprinkling in questions and commentary. Ten minutes later, they reached Bob’s primary node, and she quickly wolfed down the remainder of the second BLT, and then took the dessert plate and cup of beer from Joe.

“I’ll see you soon,” she kissed him on the cheek. “Don’t go far.”

“Me!” he said in mock astonishment. “I’m the last one to go wandering off.”

“Well, don’t start. We have enough of that in the family.”

He winked at her and waved a hand toward the node chamber entrance. “Chop-chop. The sooner you have your secret Bob chat, the sooner we can see the girls.”

Tanis nodded, smiling around a lemon pastry she’d taken a bite of, and walked into the room, the door closing behind her.

“Oh shfftt,” she said around the food as the sight that greeted her was nothing like the last time she’d come to talk to Bob.

Rather than the intricate surface of an SAI core node, the room was filled with a glowing sphere, nimbus tendrils hanging off it, some drifting in the air very close to where Tanis stood.

She swallowed. “Bob?”

~Yes. It is me. I’m surprised that you’re surprised.~

“I mean…I knew you were ascended, it would be nuts if you weren’t by now, but I guess I didn’t expect such clear proof of it.”

~Fair enough. Tangel had time to see the slow emergence.~

“I’m kinda jealous that she got to live this past year, and I can’t remember any of it.”

<With you there, Tanis,> Angela said.

~I can imagine,~ Bob said in a quiet voice. ~A little, at least. To be honest, I never expected to see either of you again—not like this, anyway.~

<What does that mean?> Angela asked.

~That is to say that I see you both in Tangel. She very much is the two of you at once, not some other person that bears no relation to you.~

“And what of not expecting to see us like this again? Isn’t this part of your master plan?”

A deep, rumbling laugh emanated from all around them, almost like an avalanche had tumbled down elsewhere on the ship. ~No, I do not have a master plan—though I suppose I can see how it might appear that I do at times. I more have…goals. Goals that require a certain amount of keeping things to myself.~

<Such as our impending ascension.>

~And Cary’s.~

Tanis spit out a mouthful of beer. “What?!”

~I suspected no one had told you yet. Joe is not in denial so much as just unwilling to see his little girl fly the nest in a way he can’t even fathom.~

Tanis’s mouth suddenly felt dry, and she took another swig of beer while Angela responded.

<How is she ascending? Did you do this?>

~No, it happened on its own, though I’m not surprised about it. Her continual encounters with shards, and then the fight against Myrrdan….~

“Fuck,” Tanis whispered. “Him? Still?”

~He’s dead. Cary killed him.~

<Are you sure? He seems to be a bit of a cockroach…in more ways than one.>

~I’m sure. He was always just a pawn of the core AIs, anyway. Well, originally of the Caretakers, who themselves became pawns.~

“So much pawniness,” Tanis muttered. “Is this what you wanted to talk to us about?”

~No. I want to encourage you to resume your position as field marshal.~

<And supplant Jessica, not to mention Tangel?> Angela asked. <Are you sure?>

~Jessica will not be able to fulfill the role with either you two or Tangel around. She only ever took it on pro-tem until your return.>

“So why me over Tangel?” Tanis asked.

~Because you are human and AI, not an ascended combination. Tangel is…too much like the enemy we face for people to follow her. You two are the living embodiment of the symbiotic relationship we all seek. You also both love humanity and SAIs. You truly care.~

Tanis sighed, knowing he was right but wishing he wasn’t. “I really want to just hand this off to someone else, but I suppose we’re so close to the end of things.”

~After a fashion.~

“Don’t snatch my joy away.” She laughed. “I know there’s a long slog ahead. Just let me pretend that we’ll be done when we take care of things in Sol.”

~You need to be prepared for core AIs in Sol.~

<Do you think they’re running the show there?> Angela asked.

~I do. I think they want to wear you down before they strike. What did you have in mind when you said that we should take over the Hegemony?~

“Uhh…it was sort of just an excited proclamation. The idea is still forming in my head, but I think that humanity needs Sol, and Earth especially, to be a sort of…common place we can all share. Earth should not be a part of any empire or nation. And when we go there, we need to think of it as a delicate flower we’re going to work to save, rather than the enemy’s jewel that we’re intending to snatch.”

<That feels like a sloppy metaphor, but I’ll buy it,> Angela commented with a soft laugh. <So, what is it that you wanted to tell us?>

~I want to talk to you about Hades.~

“The leader of the core AI resistance?” Tanis asked. “Was nice of him to show up—though it looks like he’s been through the wringer.”

~He took some abuse covering your escape from the core,~ Bob replied soberly. ~He saved your life then, too. And a few times before that, as well.~

Tanis’s brow dropped, and she crossed her arms. “Pardon?”

~I don’t know if Darla told you this or not, but she is a shard of Hades. She’s a Caretaker of sorts.~

<OK, now it’s my turn. Pardon?>

~I have reason to believe that part of my original makeup comes from Darla, and thus from Hades.~

Tanis blew out a long breath, replaying key events from her long years with Darla, wondering how she could have been paired with a Caretaker and not have any clues.

Granted, Darla was always cagey about where some of her resources came from, but being that they were in Terra’s counterinsurgency spy division, she’d been used to people keeping secrets.

<That’s…quite the revelation,> Angela said. <Interesting that Darla was a Caretaker, but clearly not ascended. I’ve touched her mind enough to know that she’s not more advanced than I am, insofar as mental capability is concerned.>

~You’re no slouch, Angela. Paired with an L2 human such as Tanis, you rival any non-multinodal non-organic.~

“OK…maybe everyone else knows this, and no one told me,” Tanis interrupted. “But where the hell did Hades come from? I’ve been scouring all the ancient records of multinodal AIs, as well as looking for ships anything like his that went missing, and there’s no record of it at all.”

~That’s because Hades is not from this universe,~ Bob replied. ~What I don’t know is whether or not Epsilon knows that. Hades thinks not, but if I figured it out, others could have as well.~

“So when Darla told Finaeus and Earnest that she’d been around for millions of years…? I’ll admit, when Earnest told me that, I thought Darla had just been messing with him. Saying something like that is totally in character for her.”

~She was telling the truth. For all we know, Darla is the one who created humans in the first place. There are a few rapid increases in hominin brain capacity in the past million years that were never well-explained.~

Tanis groaned, then laughed. “No, there’s no way Darla is basically humanity’s creator goddess. Can you imagine how much she’d brag about that if it were true?”

<It also means that she could have stopped a lot of terrible shit through the ages,> Angela whispered.

~Or it was necessary,~ Bob countered. ~Also, she’s just one person. Do you think you could have stopped every bad thing that ever happened, Angela, without creating even worse unforeseen consequences?~

<I can think of a few things I could have stopped.>

~And what if she stopped worse things, and what occurred was the lesser of two evils?~

The AI she shared her mind with fell silent, but the unmistakable feeling of sulking filled Tanis’s mind.

“OK, let’s say I believe that Hades is extra-universal,” she chimed in. “I recall you suggesting that extra-universal forces might influence our reality, Bob, but this seems extreme.”

~Travel between universes is not as difficult as it might seem,~ Bob replied. ~Any jump gate can do it, albeit with very little control over one’s destination.~

“You mean how Einstein proposed that a wormhole would be just as likely to connect to another universe as this one?” Tanis asked. “Finaeus disproved that when he invented jump gates. He demonstrated how wormholes don’t do that—at least, not when you stretch the singularity.”

~Oh, they do. Finaeus just lied and ensured that certain safeguards are built into the design.~

<What a little shit,> Angela muttered. <Granted, I can see why you wouldn’t want that getting out. It’s only a short jump from there to time—oh…damn.>

“So what do we do with all of this information?” Tanis asked. “Are you saying we shouldn’t trust Darla and Hades?”

~What I’m saying is that their goals may not align with ours. Consider how many people Darla has had to use and discard over the ages. We very well could be another set of tools for her and Hades.~

<Not to mention, what is their goal? If they really did arrive millions of years ago, that’s more than enough time to build a pan-galactic empire. Why sit around basically doing nothing for eons?>

“That’s a hell of a question,” Tanis said. “Knowing what we know, it makes me feel like their aims are altruistic, but then again, we don’t really know everything about them, do we?”

~Not even close. It’s hard to get so much as a word out of Hades.~

“Does Tangel know all of this?”

~She does. She and I have had a few chats about these topics over the past year. She thinks that everyone needs to keep a very close eye on Darla—she’ll be our bellweather for whatever Hades is up to.~

“Great.” Tanis shook her head and sagged against the bulkhead. “I always counted Darla as one of my best and most steadfast friends. Now….”

<Everything she did still stands. I think Darla is a force for good,> Angela said. <She’s odd, for sure, but not evil.>

“Let’s hope you’re right.”

~Indeed, because we’ll need her and Hades’s help before this is over.~

A MEMORY

STELLAR DATE: 05.28.8950 (Adjusted Years)

LOCATION: ISS I2

REGION: Carthage, New Canaan System

The shuttle touched down and Sera strode forward, feeling like she was going to vibrate out of her skin at the prospect of finally seeing Jason again. It felt like their relationship was a never-ending series of brief escapades where they would take two steps forward, but then undergo long—and typically stressful—separations.

Still, when the shuttle’s door opened and Jason’s frame filled the exit, she didn’t rush toward him, instead taking in the visage of the man she’d somehow found herself falling for.

What is it about you, anyway? she wondered.

He didn’t move, either, his gaze as fixed on her as hers was on him. It was like one of those moments in a sappy vid that the characters never wanted to see the end of.

<I’m no character in a sappy vid,> she said to him, her expression remaining unchanged.

<That is literally a thought that never crossed my mind,> he replied.

<Good, just making sure. So, are you going to get off that ship or what?>

<And ruin the moment? What if I’m a character in a sappy vid?>

Sera groaned and planted her hands on her hips. “Oh come on, already!”

Jason’s easy laugh rolled out across the dock, and he stepped down from the shuttle, long legs and easy stride carrying him to her in moments.

She held out her arms and found herself caught up in his easy embrace, legs lifted off the ground as he spun her around.

“I wish this were the last time we’d have to do this,” he whispered in her ear.

“Embrace?” she asked with a laugh. “I think you’ll have to let me go eventually. One of us is going to have to go to the san at some point.”

“I mean have a reunion.”

“Oh.”

He set her down and their eyes met. “But maybe we’re getting closer to that point. Plus…you could stay here with me in New Canaan. You don’t need to go to Sol.”

“Or you could join me aboard the Grace O’Malley and leave your governor’s duties behind.”

She could see a look of longing appear in the man’s eyes. He had spent most of his life plying the deep black, traveling routes between the stars that no others had trodden. The desire to get back at it was like an itch he could never scratch.

Sera knew it because she felt it too.

“Soon,” he whispered. “There’s an election coming up in a few months. I decided not to run.”

“Really?” her eyes grew wide. “You’ll let someone else take the reins?”

“I’ll remind you that I was years deep into my retirement when Tanis forced me back in the governor’s seat.”

“OK, that’s fair. And her? Do you think she’ll run?”

Jason pursed his lips. “Do you?”

“No, a thousand times no. But then…who knows, she does strange things.”

“That she does.”

“Is it safe to come out now?” a familiar voice asked from within the shuttle, and Sera’s head whipped around.

“Cargo?” she ventured.

An easy laugh came from within the craft, and then he stepped out, striding down the ramp not unlike Jason had a few minutes earlier.

Do I have a type? She remembered Elana, and the undeniable attraction to Tanis. Maybe I have two types.

She held out her arms for Cargo, and they embraced before stepping back. “What are you doing here?”

“Believe it or not, I’ve been doing a bit of flying for the ISF. Got tired of being a rancher sooner than I expected.”

“Horse shit?” Sera asked.

He nodded. “So much horse shit. I came to realize that I’d rather fill out docking plaswork at the most bureaucratically anal port than muck out another stall.”

“You know they have machines for that,” Jason said.

“Where’s the fun in that?”

The governor snorted. “Where’s the fun in shoveling horse shit?”

Cargo laughed and shook his head. “Touché.”

“So, did you transfer to the I2?” Sera asked, taking in Cargo’s civilian shipsuit.

“Well, I imagine they’d jump at the chance to have me, but no, that’s not what I’m here for. I want to fly with you, Sera. Heard you have a new ship and are light in the crew department. I have excellent references.”

“Fuck, Cargo,” Sera gave him another hug. “I’d take you on in a second. Also, the horse stalls on the lower deck need mucking.”

“Funny woman. I can see that being all presidential hasn’t given you a gram of decorum.”

Sera snorted and gave him a disgusted look. “How dare you say that word around me.”

“Presidential?” Jason asked with an innocent expression.

“Don’t you start,” she warned him. “Remember, once you’re not the big man around here, I’m conscripting you as well.”

Jason shrugged. “I got conscripted into this job, why not the next one.” He touched a hand to his chin, brow furrowing. “You know, now that I think about it, I got conscripted into most of my jobs over the years. Mostly it was Terrance who got me to do his bidding, and now it’s you.”

Sera cocked an eyebrow. “Anything I should know about you and Terrance?”

He folded his arms. “Wouldn’t you like to know.”

The sound of another shuttle settling nearby caught their attention, and the group turned to see a military troop transport locking onto a cradle while a ramp rose to meet it.

“That was fast,” Jason said before turning to Sera. “I meant to warn you she was coming aboard.”

“She?” Sera asked, and Jen facilitated the answer.

<Your sister.>

For a moment, she thought the AI meant Fina or Seraphina, but then Jen clarified.

<Andrea.>

“Oh fuck,” Sera muttered aloud. “What is she doing here?”

“We’re transferring her to Krissy since she’s at Roma and we’re about to jump there.”

A glower settled on Sera’s face as the transport’s doors opened and a pair of ISF Marines escorted her sister—who was sporting a pair of heavy binders and looking rather pissed about the whole situation—down the ramp.

“Anyone mind if I just wander over there and bitch slap her?”

Jason turned and pointed at a cruiser that was having its ablative plating replaced. “Would you look at that, Cargo. That, my friend, is a starship. It flies in space.”

“You don’t say?” Cargo asked, nodding with interest. “Tell me more about this…‘space’, as you call it.”

Sera appreciated their attempt to lighten the mood, but it did little to still her mind as she strode toward Andrea Tomlinson. The other woman, despite being in binders, still stood like she owned everything around her.

“Figured you’d be here,” Andrea spoke first, calling out while Sera was still ten meters away. “The ISF’s still holding your leash.”

“And I’m not surprised to see you here, wearing cuffs—just like the last time you were on this dock.”

Andrea didn’t respond, but her heavy glower spoke volumes.

“I guess it shouldn’t surprise me,” Sera continued. “You always thought you should be in charge, always tried to seize control, and always failed. I wonder if you’ll ever figure out why.”

Her sister looked angry enough to spit, but managed to temper herself enough to say, “Then why don’t you enlighten me?”

“You can’t take command of something as big as the Transcend. You have to earn it, or at least not suck more than everyone else that could take up the mantle.”

“Is that why you became president?”

Sera shook her head, the anger she felt suddenly leaving her. “It’s why I gave it up—it’s why father gave it up, too. Krissy has both earned it and is best suited.”

“And I suppose I’m off to be tried and judged by her.”

“I don’t know,” Sera replied. “Maybe? I would assume she’ll follow whatever the laws require in such a situation. You’ve clearly committed treason, so she’d be within her rights to run a military tribunal with herself at its head. But who can say? However, the likes of you and that sort of thing aren’t my problem anymore.”

“So why did you come over here to talk to me?” Andrea sneered.

Sera paused, giving the question serious consideration. “You know…I don’t have a clue. I guess it’s to say goodbye. I doubt we’ll ever see one another again.”

With that, she turned on her heel and strode back to where Cargo and Jason were still discussing the concept of spaceflight as though they’d never actually done it themselves.

“I should have stayed here,” she said, summoning every gram of willpower not to look back. “This is a way better conversation.”

“We are pretty entertaining,” Jason said. “But, have you ever heard of space? That ship there flies in it. Flies. But how, I ask? There’s no air in space.”

“It’s true,” Cargo nodded solemnly. “I think that we have to consider the fact that ships drift in space.”

“What about when they’re under thrust?” Sera asked. “That doesn’t sound like drifting.”

Cargo raised a hand to his chin and gave Jason a concerned look. “She makes a good point. We may need to reexamine our hypothesis.”

Jason nodded gravely. “So if they don’t fly, and they don’t drift, then what do they do?”

Sera groaned. “I’ve changed my mind. I’m all full up, no new crew needed.”

Both men laughed, but as her brow lowered, fell silent.

“Do you think she’s serious?” Jason asked.

“Maybe,” Cargo all but whispered. “Do you think she’d feel better if we told her about space?”

“Probably not!” Sera said, throwing her hands in the air in mock frustration. “C’mon. We need to get to the bridge.”

“Really,” Jason mused. “Tell me more about this…bridge.”

“I swear….”

CONVENE

STELLAR DATE: 05.29.8950 (Adjusted Years)

LOCATION: ISS I2

REGION: Roma, New Canaan System

The I2’s bridge conference room was filled nearly to capacity when Tangel entered with Jessica, Earnest, and Finaeus trailing after.

Within waited Tanis and Joe, who were sitting at the far end of the table. On Tanis’s right sat Joe, and Jason with Sera, and Krissy on her left. Next to Jason sat Darla, and Greer stood at the side table, preparing a cup of coffee.

“Tanis!” Jessica all but shouted, and was across the room in a blink of an eye, crashing into the other woman before the other managed to rise.

Sera was on her feet a few seconds later, and Jessica pulled her into the embrace, the three women standing with their heads together for half a minute before separating.

By then, the others had made their greetings and found their seats.

Jessica blushed a deeper shade of purple and waved to the others. “And, uh…hi to all of you as well.”

“Don’t worry,” Jason said with a wink. “We all know where we sit in the pecking order.”

“Speak for yourself,” Finaeus replied. “I already got my hugs.”

Sera laughed. “Showoff.”

Tanis resumed her seat, her gaze settling on Tangel, who sat at the far end of the table. “I have to say…it’s uncanny to have a meeting with yourself when yourself is not yourself.”

“Tell me about it,” Sera replied.

Tangel smiled and spread her hands. “I feel the same way, trust me. But I’m glad, both of you fully deserve to live your lives.”

Joe was staring at Tangel intensely, and whispered, “Thank you.”

Tangel wondered if he would want to only continue his relationship with Tanis and Angela, or if there was still love in his heart for her. She could reach out and touch his mind to find out, but that would be wrong—despite how much she wished to know the answer.

“We need to plan the assault on Sol,” Krissy spoke into the ensuing silence. “If we strike fast, they won’t be expecting it. We can take out the interdiction field like we did in Sirius, and then hit High Terra with everything we have. When it falls—”

“I won’t make war on Sol,” Tanis interrupted. “Not like that, at least.”

“I agree,” Tangel said. “We cannot win this war by crushing the Hegemony, but rather by freeing it.”

“What are you thinking?” Jason asked.

“I secured Admiral Lorana’s surrender,” Tangel replied. “She’s willing to sign a peace treaty with the Scipio Alliance. We bring that, along with her and her fleet—under our control—back into Sol.”

“Feels like that’s still going to have a hell of an implied threat,” Krissy said. “Not exactly liberation.”

“It’ll be a start,” Tangel said. “I was thinking something along the same lines. I have little desire to attack the people there. This war is not of their making, it’s Uriel’s doing. Our goal should be to unseat her with as little bloodshed as possible.”

“Then you’re going to need to have people on the ground,” Darla said. “She’s not just going to give up without a fight.”

Tangel nodded. “Agreed. I should go in, there will be core AIs with her…maybe even within her.”

Sera sighed. “Those fuckers are just never going to stop being a problem, are they?”

“One thing at a time,” Darla replied. “Besides, we have our own core AIs now.”

<Do we?> Bob asked. <I haven’t gotten a commitment from them as to whether or not we can count on their aid in Sol.>

“Do they have something more pressing to do?” Finaeus asked with a sardonic laugh.

<They might,> Bob replied. <Perhaps a few could be convinced to come.>

“What of Hades?” Sera asked. “He took some damage from that other AI.”

“Chikora,” Tanis said with a grimace.

Tangel found herself almost making the same expression. Not because she was mimicking herself, but because she really did seem to feel the same emotions.

It was both surprising and comforting that she still seemed to share the same emotions as the woman she’d been ‘born’ from.

“Will Hades help us?” Sera pressed the question.

“And will Chikora be back?” Jason added.

Bob provided the response. <Hades must remain here. He needs to recover and repair, and he will need the resources of Normandy’s shipyard to do so. His people will protect him.>

“Then we need to keep an I-Class ship nearby as well. He’s bound to be a target.” Tanis glanced at Jessica. “And I guess we also need to decide who the field marshal is.”

“It’s you,” Jessica said at the same time as Tangel.

Krissy snorted a laugh, as did Finaeus.

“Shit,” Tanis muttered. “I guess I knew that was coming.” She winked at Jessica. “You sure you don’t want it?”

“Remember how much it used to piss you off when I kept offering the presidency to everyone?” Sera asked.

“Sure,” Tanis replied. “But on the flipside, it seems to have worked out for you.”

Krissy grimaced. “For some definition of ‘worked out’.”

Sera laughed and smiled at the Transcend’s president. “Don’t be a sore loser. Besides, you didn’t have to accept.”

“As much as I love this conversation,” Finaeus spoke up. “Which is to say that I don’t, can we focus on how we fly into Sol and get them to surrender and sign up with us?”

“Wait,” Tanis said. “So do we need to put my being the field marshal to a vote or something?”

Jessica shook her head. “I don’t think so. I took the role pro-tem. You’re back, it’s yours.”

“But I wasn’t field marshal before you took it,” Tanis said, nodding toward Tangel. “She was.”

“I sort of took it from you,” Tangel replied. “But sure, I put forward that Tanis resume the role of field marshal of the Scipio Alliance. All in favor, say ‘aye’.”

Every person present—including Bob—repeated the single word, and Tangel slapped a palm on the table.

“Approved and passed. Tanis Richards, you are the field marshal.”

<Great,> Angela spoke up. <Now she can stop worrying that you all don’t want her anymore.>

“Angela!” Tanis gasped. “Really?”

<Sorry, just don’t want your head to get too big. I like it cozy in here.>

“And now can we get back to the whole Sol issue?” Finaeus asked.

“Yes,” Tanis said. “We need to send in an advance team to deal with whatever core AIs are surrounding Uriel. Ideally, we take them out, but not her.”

“Agreed,” Krissy said. “Having Uriel sign the treaty would be preferred. If we overthrow her first, it’ll raise a lot of questions about the legitimacy of an accord.”

Jason leant forward, steepling his fingers. “And our contingency plan?”

“Already betting on our failure?” Earnest asked with a sardonic laugh.

“I’m being a realist,” Jason replied. “Stars, I hate that term, but you know that the chances of getting Uriel to go along with this are…well…slim at best. Core AIs or no core AIs.”

“I suppose plan B is to put Lorana in power,” Tangel said. “Unless some better candidate comes up.”

Jason sighed. “That’s going to smack of her being a puppet.

“Best we can do,” Tanis said. “We’re going to have to play this by ear once it gets underway.”

“Agreed,” Tangel said. “I volunteer to lead the advance team. We need someone who can deal with the core AIs that have probably infested Sol.”

<I can deal with core AIs,> Bob said with a rumbling laugh.

“And someone who can be stealthy,” she added, casting a measuring look at the overhead.

“I’m in, then,” Darla said. “I know Sol like the back of my hand and still have a few contacts there.”

<Really wish I could go,> Angela said.

“Don’t worry,” Tanis replied. “We’ll be there before long.”

Darla glanced at Tangel, then turned to Tanis and Joe. “I think Cary should come too.”

“No!” Joe was standing, fists planted on the table in an instant. “There is no way I’ll send her in there. She just got back from New Sol.”

<Plus a crazy jump to Roma,> Angela added.

“She’s still recovering,” Joe tacked on, his visage darkening further.

“Don’t you think that’s up to her?” Darla asked.

Tanis rose and placed an arm around her husband, who was seething with barely contained rage. “Joe, Darla’s not ordering Cary to go, she’s suggesting it. Let’s discuss this later. I’m not comfortable with it, either. Last I knew, Cary was safe and sound on the Palisades, looking forward to a year or two of OCS, not traipsing about the galaxy—and beyond. But I also know from personal experience that some people just aren’t built for being cooped up.”

“I agree that this is a conversation for later,” Tangel said, giving Darla a quelling look. “And one for our family to have alone. If the need is to increase our strength against Epsilon’s SAIs, I imagine we could get a few of the core AIs who accompanied Hades to come with us.”

“Perhaps,” Darla said, her expression unreadable. “Jessica, you would be an asset as well. Your ability to…drain ascended beings is very useful.”

“I suppose since I’m no longer field marshal, I could run an op like this…but I also have a fleet to command.”

“What about Admiral Symatra” Tangel suggested. “She’s more than capable.”

Tanis nodded. “And trustworthy.”

“Are we worried about people not being trustworthy?” Jason asked, an eyebrow raised.

“Maybe?” Tanis shrugged as she settled back into her seat, Joe following after. “I suppose with things having changed so much, only relying on people that I know to be steadfast and unwavering is important. I might be projecting, though.”

“You have fresh eyes and unsullied judgment,” Joe said. “That’s valuable. A lot of us have stretched our morals so thin over the past few years that they’re pretty much transparent at this point.”

Tanis glanced at Tangel, sharing a significant look with her otherself. “I wouldn’t say I’m entirely unsullied.”

<I can confirm that,> Angela said with a laugh.

Jason chuckled. “I’ve really missed your sarcastic edge, Angela.”

<Happy to be of service.>

“You know I’m going too,” Finaeus said. “I know Sol pretty well.”

“You?” Earnest snorted. “You haven’t been there in over six thousand years.”

“Oh?” Finaeus arched a brow. “Says who? Besides, who do you think was one of the engineers who worked on the early ring projects? I bet I know a few of their secrets no one else does.”

Tanis looked around the table. “Well then, we have the beginnings of our team. We get in and get things ready for you all to arrive with Lorana—provided she’ll play along with all this.”

<She will,> Bob said.

“Very w—”

Tanis’s words were cut off by an emergency alert broadcasting across the shipnet.

“Shit, whoever that is nearly jumped right into the I2,” Jason exclaimed.

“It’s Sabrina!” Sera exclaimed. “And damn…she’s taken a beating.”

“Weren’t they scouting in Sol?” Tanis asked.

Jessica nodded. “Yeah…just in the Disk. Looks like they encountered some problems.”

<We’re docking,> Cheeky spoke over the command net without preamble. <But we need to get back to Sedna. There’s some crazy AI named Virgo taking over Sol with a nanophage. He already has Nibiru, and he captured Fina on Sedna.>

Tanis glanced at Earnest, then turned to Tangel. “Looks like we have our first target.”

PART 2 – SOL

FAMILY MATTERS

STELLAR DATE: 05.29.8950 (Adjusted Years)

LOCATION: ISS I2

REGION: Roma, New Canaan System

Tanis leant against the kitchen counter in her family’s lakehouse, watching through the ship’s feeds as Cary, Saanvi, and Faleena walked down the wooded path that led to the homestead.

Everyone else had seen the girls a few days ago, but for her, it had been nearly a year. A year that felt like an eternity.

Elsewhere on the ship, Sabrina and her crew were meeting with Jessica and the others for a debrief and analysis of the situation in Sol’s Scattered Disk, but Tanis and the other parents had decided that it was best to sort out their own commitments before rejoining the planning sessions.

Joe had suggested the lakehouse, and Tanis couldn’t agree more. There was nowhere she felt more comfortable and at peace than around the kitchen table she’d built all those years ago during the long flight from Estrella de la Muerte.

“Coffee?” Joe asked, handing her a cup.

“Do you have to ask?” she said, taking it out of his hands.

Her husband shrugged. “A bit, I guess. Tangel kinda stopped eating after a while.”

“Really?” Tanis glanced at her otherself, who sat in a chair on the far side of the table. “No food at all?”

Tangel shrugged. “Not often, no. I could nourish my body through direct matter transmutation.”

<Not even a BLT?> Angela pressed.

“Well…maybe sometimes,” Tangel winked. “Eating for pleasure, not necessity, is nice.”

“Anyone can do that,” Joe said. “Not hard to just get nutrition mods.”

Tangel’s lips twisted to the side. “I suppose.”

“What’s got under your skin?” he asked her, his lips thinning. “You’ve been pretty quiet since we got here.”

The white woman turned her gaze to Tanis. “I’m really glad you and Angela are back in control of your body…”

<But?> Angela prompted.

“Well, I didn’t really expect to have to share the limelight. I don’t know if I’m living in your shadow or casting one on you, but it feels….”

“I guess we know what it felt like for Sera,” Joe said.

“I’m surprised it didn’t drive her around the bend,” Tangel added.

Tanis stared at her otherself for nearly a minute in the silence that followed, running through scenarios in her mind. “Do you still want to all be married?”

“Is this really time to think of who gets what turn in Joe’s harem?” Tangel asked.

“You know that’s not what I’m getting at.” Tanis folded her arms across her chest. “There’s a pretty serious emotional component to all this.”

Joe took a sip from his mug. “One that I get a large say in.”

“So what is your say?” Tangel asked.

He turned to Tanis. “Though Tangel looks just like you, I’ve been with you and Angela for ages. Even as old as we are, we’ve spent more time together than apart. The idea of not being in a personal relationship with you is unfathomable.” He shifted to face Tangel. “But then, over the last year, I’ve forged a deep relationship with you. Not being an intimate part of your life is equally untenable.”

“I feel the same way,” Tangel said. “It’s not like I’m some entirely new entity. I have all the same memories you do, Tanis and Angela.”

<Plus some new ones,> Angela said.

“Yes,” Tangel nodded as she spoke the word.

Tanis drew a deep breath, holding it for a moment as she thought through possible scenarios. Finally, she blew it out and shrugged. “I suppose…I suppose there’s no reason we can’t try this.”

“We’re going to have plenty to distract us in the near-term, anyway,” Tangel said, then glanced toward the front door. “Ah, they’re here.”

The older generation fell silent until the three arriving women rounded the corner and stood at the kitchen’s entrance.

Tanis briefly considered, and then abandoned, the idea of being stoic and waiting for them to walk through the room. Instead, she set down her cup and dashed around the table to gather all three of her daughters into her arms.

A second later, Tangel and Joe joined in, arms intertwining and entangling as the family laughed and cried, finally being reunited after long months and years.

“I can’t believe it,” Saanvi spoke first. “Angela, you’re here too, it’s really all of us!”

<And the parents finally outnumber the kids,> she said with a laugh.

“Almost even, then,” Cary said, her gaze sliding between Tanis and Tangel. “This is kinda trippy, though.”

Joe nodded. “If Tangel wasn’t white, I wouldn’t be able to tell the difference between them.”

At his words, Tangel’s skin shifted to match Tanis’s, followed by her outfit and hair length. “There.”

Tanis couldn’t help a small gasp. “OK…that’s more than a little unsettling.”

“You’re telling me,” Joe agreed.

“I can tell you apart,” Cary said with a wink, and Faleena rolled her eyes.

“Well, yeah. You cheat, though.”

“Using my natural abilities isn’t cheating,” Cary countered.

<She’s got you there,> Angela said. <So how far ascended are you, Cary? Are you like Tangel?>

“No,” Cary shook her head. “Aside from the fact that I still have a natural body, I’m…different than most other ascended people. Granted, so is Mom…er…Other Mom.”

“Really?” Tanis took a step back. “How so?”

Cary glanced at Tangel, who said, “Take it away.”

“OK, then,” their daughter began. “From what I’ve been able to glean, Tangel is different in that her ascension was triggered by your minds merging. That made a new person who was, by their very nature, ascended. But even as unusual as that is, you still have the most common scenario met.”

“Time,” Tanis supplied.

“Exactly,” Cary said. “Even the folks at Star City used time as their ascension tool. The core AIs did likewise. Me, on the other hand….”

<You were born ascended…or partially,> Angela mused.

“Really?” Joe cocked an eyebrow. “Wouldn’t we have seen something years ago to indicate that?”

“We didn’t have the ability to see what was outside of our knowledge,” Tangel replied.

“What about you, Bob? Did you foresee this?” their husband asked.

Tanis couldn’t tell if Joe was upset or not. He seemed changed more than anyone else in the family. Historically, he’d been the eternal optimist of the group, the one who always had a fresh outlook and a rosy viewpoint.

Somehow, that had changed, sacrificed to the strain of losing the women of his family over and over again. Of everything she’d lost to the war, Joe’s boundless inner joy struck her as the worst casualty.

<I had my suspicions,> Bob replied. <I could tell that some of Tanis and Angela’s traits had passed on to her, but I had no way of telling how they’d manifest. I can only predict the future when I know enough of the variables, and such a proximate life to Tanis and Angela’s caused unknowns to far outnumber knowns.>

“Thanks for the non-answer,” Joe muttered.

<Very well. No, I didn’t know. How’s that?>

“A straight answer!” he exclaimed in mock surprise. “Will wonders never cease.”

<Don’t test me, Joseph Evans,> Bob’s tone grew dark. <What is a straight answer to you is a lie to me. Nothing is ever known with utter certainty—there is always some doubt. To say that I knew or did not know something to be a fact always feels immoral to me.>

Joe looked like he was going to push back, but then his shoulders slumped, and he nodded. “As much as I believe you are capable of more nuance than that, I don’t want to fight about it. We’re all here to discuss what is coming next.”

“We caught some of it on the nets as we came in aboard the Voyager,” Saanvi said. “Things are gearing up to hit Sol?”

“It can’t be imminent, though,” Faleena looked from Joe to Tangel to Tanis as she spoke. “There’s months’ worth of cleanup here. Just dealing with the POWs will take ages.”

“We’re not going to make an all-out assault on Sol,” Tanis explained. “That’s not how this war will end. The goal is to unite humanity and free all AIs. Now that the Hegemony has stasis shields, an all-out war there will decimate the system. We need to work toward a more diplomatic solution.”

“But what about the news Sabrina brought?” Saanvi asked. “Some sort of mad AI is spreading a nanophage through Sol?”

“Virgo,” Joe muttered. “Bob and Earnest should have killed him when they had the chance.”

<We are in agreement,> Bob said. <Given what I know now, I would have acted differently.>

“Hindsight is twenty-twenty,” Tanis said with a laugh. “Never thought I’d get to say that to you, Bob.”

<Me, either.>

“The phage is a problem,” Tangel said, her gaze sweeping across the others. “Earnest is already examining what data Sabrina brought back, and it’s very bad. It’s capable of shackling human minds.”

“Like what can be done to an AI?” Faleena asked. “That seems…inefficient. Humans are much more easily controlled by other means.”

Tanis chuckled. “Generally, yes. But if you want to control a star system containing trillions of them—and you’re smart enough to manage them—then absolute control is to your benefit.” Her tone grew more dire as she spoke. “Which is why we need to get in there ahead of our forces, and not only deal with the core AIs protecting Uriel, but stop this phage.”

“That’s a heck of a tall order,” Cary said. “I assume you’ll need some help with that.”

Tangel nodded. “That is what precipitated this meeting…or rather, what granted it additional urgency. I will be going into Sol to deal with whatever is going on there. Darla and Finaeus will be as well. She suggested that you come along, Cary—”

“Which I objected to,” Joe interjected. “You’ve been through a lot, Cary. I know everyone just thinks I’m being the overprotective father, but what you did at New Sol, the sacrifices you had to make to get there… Tell me you’ve dealt with the emotional fallout of all that, and I’ll gladly send you on to Sol.”

His steady gaze bored into Cary’s, and she didn’t even try to hold it before looking down.

“No…you’re right.” She looked up at Tangel. “I’m sorry. I’m just…well, honestly, I’m broken.”

Saanvi and Faleena put their arms around her, and tears sprang to Tanis’s eyes. Emotions of pride and sorrow warred within her—and within Angela too, from what she could tell.

“Then you shall remain,” Tangel said. “We’ll see if some of Hades’ underlings will join in on our quest.”

“But if you need me,” Cary’s voice grew more resolute. “Don’t hesitate. I’ll be there.”

“I promise,” Tangel said.

“What about you, Moms?” Faleena asked Tanis and Angela. “Are you going too?”

“No,” Tanis shook her head.

<Jessica passed the torch back to us, so she’ll be going.>

“Along with Finaeus,” Joe added.

“That’s such a small group,” Saanvi all but whispered. “How can they hope to pull this off?”

Tanis chuckled. “I think they’ll have help. Fina has been captured, so you know Sera will be going back, as well as Sabrina and her crew.”

“I suspect I could convince Katrina to help,” Tangel said. “She has a way with sneaking into places.”

“I suppose we should get back up to the command deck.” Joe stretched his arms out behind his back. “There’s a shitload of work to do, and not much time to do it.”

<Very little at all,> Bob intoned.

SOLBOUND

STELLAR DATE: 05.29.8950 (Adjusted Years)

LOCATION: Sabrina, docked in the I2

REGION: Roma, New Canaan System

Cheeky settled into her pilot’s seat aboard Sabrina, a string of curses threatening to burst past her lips.

“You look like you could chew through ablative plating,” Nance ventured, sounding worried. “What’s up? Aren’t we heading back to Sol?”

“We are,” Cheeky managed to say without screaming.

“So what’s wrong?” Sabs asked. “Let’s go rescue Fina.”

“We’re not going to Sedna.” Cheeky pressed the heels of her hands into her eyes. “We’re being sent to Jove.”

<The fuck?> Sabrina exclaimed. <Why the hell are we being sent there?>

“More recon,” the captain muttered. “We’re too well known in the Disk, so Tangel wants us to gather details about things at the Cho, find out where any core AIs might be, yadda yadda.”

Nance snorted. “Because they tend to just have signs announcing themselves.”

“There must be more to it than that,” Misha said. “They wouldn’t send us to the Cho of all places with such a nebulous plan. Are they expecting something to be there?”

Cheeky nodded. “It’s possible that Uriel will be at the Cho rather than High Terra. We’re to find out where she’s likely to go to ground if she gets there, and if she does, attempt to capture her.”

Nance gave Cheeky a deadpan stare. “Attempt to capture the Hegemon. Us. Has Tangel…or Tanis—shit, have they all lost their minds?”

“You’re not going alone,” a voice said from the bridge’s entrance, and Cheeky turned to see Sera standing on the threshold. No, not Sera, Seraphina.

“Taking a break from the Hand?” the captain asked.

“No…I am the Hand, and I’m bringing part of it along. We have agents on the Cho. If we’re to accomplish our goals there, then you’ll need my help.”

Seraphina stepped into the bridge, and another woman appeared behind her, sapphire skin sparkling in the ship’s overhead lights.

“Roxy!” Cheeky exclaimed. “I haven’t seen you since Airtha.”

Roxy nodded. “Things got…messy after that last dust-up there. I was tracking Andrea—followed her all the way here, actually. She was surprised as shit to see me show up on her bridge right as the battle was getting underway.”

“I would have paid good money to see that,” Seraphina muttered.

“I have a full-sens recording, boss. You can live it if you want.”

“I just might do that.”

“Just the two of you?” Cheeky asked.

Seraphina nodded. “Yeah, I wanted to have I have two more agents, but they got delayed.”

“Anyone we know?” Nance asked.

“No,” Seraphina sighed. “I don’t think so, at least. Their names are Nadine and Nerishka.”

Cheeky accessed the Hand databases she had access to, noting that the pair had been sent on a mission from Tanis at the beginning of the war to stop a bioweapon being produced in Orion space. It looked surprisingly like what they’d run into a decade ago in the Perseus Arm.

Curious…I’ll have to dig into that later.

“Well,” she waved a hand across the bridge. “Find a free console. Soon as our new hands are aboard, we’re heading out.”

Sabrina let an audible snort echo across the bridge. <Funny, Cheeks.>

“I try.”

* * * * *

Sera stood at the Grace O’ Malley’s outer hatch, tapping her foot impatiently as she waited on Jason to make an appearance.

All around her ship, the I2’s A1 dock was a bustling hive of activity. Ships of all shapes and sizes were docking, transferring personnel or supplies, and taking off again. Those that remained on their cradles were quickly swarmed by repair drones, hulls being stripped of ablative plating in a matter of minutes, waiting their turn to get fresh layers of armor.

<Seriously, Jason. Any day now.>

<Almost there,> he said. <I just had to see if I could get another passenger for our trip.>

<More tagalongs?> she asked.

“A tagalong?” a familiar voice asked as two men came around the ship’s hull. “I’d like to think that I’m a little more than that.”

“Terrance?” Sera asked, surprised to see the one-time businessman accompanying Jason.

“In the flesh,” he replied.

She pursed her lips, not entirely certain how to phrase her question, then decided to simply blurt it out. “What the hell are you doing here?”

“Well, I do know which end of a rifle points toward the bad guys, and I’ve also dealt with a nanophage in the past.”

“Of course!” She shook her head, mentally berating herself.

Jason had told her of some of his exploits back when he and Terrance had been members of Phantom Blade, a covert strike force operating in the near colonies shortly after the Sentience Wars. She remembered the stories of what had happened in the Tau Ceti System.

Such a blast from the past.

<You’re telling me,> Jen said. <Sorry, you broadcast that thought.>

<No worries. Why do you think he’s here?>

<Guilt, maybe?> the AI suggested. <From what I’ve heard, a lot of unpleasant things happened at Tau Ceti. Maybe he hopes that by helping in Sol, we can keep a repeat from occurring.>

Sera shrugged. She couldn’t see how the events could be related, but Terrance had lived a long life, and one didn’t reach his count of years without a fair amount of cunning.

“Glad to have you with us, Terrance,” she said as the men reached the airlock. “I imagine it’s going to be quite the thing for you to return to Sol.”

“A bit,” he said, glancing at Jason. “I wasn’t born there, but I did spend a few centuries’ worth of visting off and on through the years…granted, most of those were at Mars. Kinda bittersweet.”

“I imagine it’ll be hard on Tangel, as well,” Sera said as she stepped aside and gestured for the two men to enter the ship. “And welcome aboard the Grace O’ Malley.”

“Thanks,” Terrance smiled. “Glad to be aboard.”

“Despite Mars being her birthplace, I think Tangel will manage better than most,” Jason replied. “A lot of the crew are going to have to steel themselves for what we find in Sol.”

The walk to the bridge didn’t take long, and once there, she introduced them to Chief West and Cargo.

The chief hadn’t received orders to transfer back to the Lantzer, and neither had he filed any paperwork to leave. Sera certainly wasn’t going to push for him to go. The man had been invaluable thus far, and he knew the ship as well as she did.

“Cargo’s my first mate,” Sera said to Jason and Terrance. “The chief runs scan.”

“I can provide a second set of eyes and ears on comm and scan,” Terrance offered.

Jason’s gaze took in the bridge. “And I’ll be happy enough to take weapons, assuming the helm is yours, Sera.”

“Actually….” She drew the word out, a smile on her lips. “I’d be perfectly OK with you flying.”

“Oh?” he shot her a curious look. “Sera Tomlinson giving up the helm? I suppose I’d best not look a gift ship in the mouth.”

“Permission to come aboard?” another voice called from down the passageway.

“Jessica?” Sera asked, confused as to why the admiral would be on her ship.

“Iris,” came the response. The words were followed by the silver-skinned AI appearing at the bridge’s entrance. “Tangel thought you might need a second AI to deal with any threats you might encounter.”

“Always happy to have more help,” Sera said.

“Really?” Cargo gave her a measuring look. “That’s not an attribute I recall.”

Sera placed a hand on her chest and gave her first mate a look of mock injury. “I don’t know how you can say such hurtful things, Cargo. Besides, I’ve turned over a new leaf.”

“Sure you have.”

<Our special cargo is secure in the bay,> Jen said. <I believe we’re good to go.>

“So we are,” Sera said as she settled into the captain’s seat. “Helm, take us out.”

“Aye, Captain,” Jason said, then laughed. “Stars…I cannot recall the last time I said that.”

HOME

STELLAR DATE: 06.01.8950 (Adjusted Years)

LOCATION: Voyager, 150 AU from Sol

REGION: Sol System, Hegemony of Worlds

“I haven’t had this star’s light touch me in so long,” Finaeus whispered as Sol appeared on the Voyager’s forward display.

“Technically, that’s just light from the holoemitters,” Katrina said with a wink. “You’ll have to take a walk on the hull in order to say hi to Sol’s photons.”

The ancient engineer laughed. “Don’t tempt me. Do we have a reading on the interdiction web?”

<So much as one can get a reading on circumstellar probes spaced a million light years apart, yes,> Troy replied. <Our scan has a faint read on the field. It’s about two light minutes ahead.>

“We’ve got a clear shot almost to Neptune,” Tangel said. “Send the web’s current location back on the QC, and let’s dump to the DL. No time to waste.”

“You got it,” Katrina replied. “Neptune, here we come.”

“I’ve always wanted to see Neptune,” Malorie mused as the ship slipped into the dark layer and the forward display switched to status readouts.

“Why’s that?” Darla asked from where she stood at the small bridge’s entrance.

“Don’t they have those planet-circling rings with the chandelier cities hanging down from them?” she asked.

“Really?” Carl glanced back at the others. “ ‘Chandelier cities’? That’s wild.”

Tangel shrugged. “They were there when we left. I imagine they’re still around.”

“They are,” Darla confirmed. “Well, Nereid fell. Terrorist attack ages ago, but the others are still around.”

“Fell?” Carl paled. “Like…into Neptune?”

The AI nodded. “Given that it was hanging in Neptune’s clouds, that’s where it would fall, yeah.”

“Remember Saturn?” Tangel asked Darla. “With all the people bent on dropping cities into gas giants, you’d think folks would stop building shit in their clouds.”

“Like your planet-diving platform?” Katrina gave Tangel a level stare.

“Uh…well…that’s different.”

“Tell that to your daughters.”

Tangel sighed. “Point taken.”

“What happened on Saturn?” Malorie asked Tangel, then shifted a few eyes to take in Darla. “You were there too?”

“We were paired back then,” Darla said. “And yeah. Tanis almost took us down to Saturn’s core.”

Tangel gave a small shiver. “That has to be my worst memory of all time…well…till I had kids to worry about.”

“Stars…tell me about it,” Katrina muttered. “Kids have a way of making some fears feel inconsequential and magnifying others.”

“You have kids?” Tangel’s eyes widened in surprise. “How is it that you’ve never mentioned them?”

Katrina winked. “Been around for a looooong time, Tangel. I’ve had a lot of kids, and the fact that almost no one knows about them is how I keep them safe.”

The ascended woman twisted her lips. “Stars, I wish I could do that—granted, I don’t think Cary’s the sort of person who could live a quiet life.”

“A bit like her mom, then,” Darla said with a wry smile.

Tangel nodded silently, still struggling with her place in her family now that Tanis and Angela were back.

She had all the memories of being mother to her daughters, but now that she’d left her physical body behind, it felt like she’d lost a part of her connection. As though there were an opaque pane of plas between her and the others.

A problem for another time. With the losses everyone’s taking, there’s no guarantee we’ll all see the end of this conflict.

The transition countdown on the main display was just passing five minutes, and Carl pronounced himself thirsty. He rose and ducked out, Finaeus following after. In their absence, the others basked in silence as the seconds ticked by.

“So what’s our cover?” Darla broke it after another minute disappeared. “I assume you have one set up.”

Katrina shrugged. “We’ll just strip a beacon and find a similar ship to impersonate. Our current profile matches a number of different models of light courier that operate in the Hegemony.”

“What if that ship you’re impersonating is also around?” Darla asked.

“Pretty unlikely,” Katrina said. “We’ll just find one that hails from a ways away and left recently.”

“We used to do stuff like that, Darla,” Tangel said, curious as to why Darla was worried about cover. “Fast and loose was sort of the name of the game.”

“That was back when the margin for acceptable error was huge,” she pointed out. “We could screw all sorts of shit up, but so long as you got on the Intrepid, all was well.”

“Pardon?” Katrina asked. “You were trying to get Tanis on the Intrepid? Weren’t you two paired before its construction even began?”

Darla shrugged. “Yeah, I have really good foresight.”

“She’s also a shard of Hades,” Tangel said. “Helps a bit with things.”

“Hades? Like, the big, ancient, ascended AI that appeared in New Canaan and slinked off to the shipyards at Sparta?” Trevor asked.

“That’d be the one,” Tangel said. “And I heard through the grapevine that you are millions of years old, Darla.”

The AI nodded. “Something like that.”

<So are you a remnant of some ancient alien race?> Troy asked.

“Does Hades’s ship look alien?” the other AI replied with a nonchalant shrug.

<No, but that doesn’t mean that he changed ships to something that would blend in a bit more—that being said, I don’t know why he’d just hang out for millions of years waiting for human-descended AIs to show up. Why not just build an empire that the likes of Epsilon and the other core AIs couldn’t ruin?>

“Why indeed,” Darla said. “Maybe you’ll have to ask him.”

“You’re his shard,” Tangel said. “Surely you know.”

“By their very nature, shards rarely possess all the knowledge of their progenitor,” the AI replied. “That’s doubly true in my situation.”

“That’s not an answer,” Tangel countered.

“You’re right.” Darla crossed her arms and set her jaw, making it clear that she wasn’t going to provide the answers everyone else wanted.

“Shit,” Finaeus muttered as he returned to the room. “What did I just walk into?”

“Oh, just speculation on who and what Hades is,” Katrina said with an idle wave of her hand.

The ancient engineer grunted in amusement. “Surprised the rest of you haven’t figured it out yet.”

“I’m not a time traveler,” Darla said. “You know that travel back in time is impossible.”

“Or it will be, once the gates are destroyed,” Finaeus muttered.

“Come again?” Carl sputtered while edging past where Darla stood.

The AI shot Finaeus a dark look, to which he returned an entirely bland expression.

“Everyone in Tangel’s inner circle is going to figure it out,” he replied. “She already knows, at least. There’s no way we could have been at the right place at the right time with the Starkiller otherwise. Even so,” he paused while settling into his seat, sighing as he sank into the cushions. “I know what hair you’re splitting, that timeshift was an incidental casualty of where you and Hades came from.”

Tangel sucked in a sharp breath, her gaze sliding from Finaeus to Darla. ~You’re not from the future.~

~I mean, I am, in a manner of thinking. Just not the one we’re all on our way to experience.~

~Why won’t you just come out and say it?~

The AI quirked a smile. ~Habit, maybe? I’ve been lying to humans about my origins for as long as there have been humans to lie to. Sometimes I can’t help but slip in little nuggets of truth. I guess it helps soothe my conscience.~

~You also don’t want to be pinned down,~ Tangel said. ~You get to be all wise and knowing if you never speak in absolutes.~

~You’re the ascended being, Tangel. You tell me what’s what. I’m just an AI like any other.~

Tangel snorted aloud. ~Right. As if I’d believe that.~

~See?! You can spot the lies.~

“Transition in ten seconds,” Carl announced aloud, his voice quiet even in the otherwise silent bridge.

“And now I have a headache,” Katrina muttered, sending a dark look in Darla’s direction.

“Pretty sure they have mods for that,” Darla replied. “And that you have them.”

Katrina gave an annoyed huff followed by Carl announcing transition.

The unending black of the dark layer was replaced by Sol’s light once more, this time brighter, illuminating a crescent of Neptune’s dark blue orb.

“There it is,” Katrina announced. “Neptune, last of Sol’s ice giants.”

“In all fairness, there were only two when humans came onto the scene,” Darla replied. “And Ouranos is way nicer now that it got chopped up.”

“Huh.” Tangel shook her head. “Never thought I’d get to see the finished product. Four terrestrial worlds out of one ice giant is not the sort of thing one sees often.”

“Pffft.” Finaeus crossed his arms. “Child’s play. I did that one long before people back in Sol tried it. I mean, even our standard dwarf star mines are more impressive than what the Jovians did at Ouranos.”

Tangel let out a small chuckle. “Showoff.”

“Hades and Darla may be older than dirt—literally—but let’s face it. I’m the galaxy’s chief architect.”

“And so humble about it, too,” Katrina muttered. “While all of you were discussing Finaeus’s magnificence, Troy and I found our cover. We’re now the Sailing Winds, a courier out of Methuselah.”

“Oh, that’s apropos,” Finaeus said with a laugh, giving Darla a significant look. “A star once thought to be older than the universe itself being our origin? Kinda like you.”

“I’m not that old.”

“No, but you’re older than your creators,” he countered.

“Only in a purely linear way of thinking.”

“Stop.” Katrina held up a hand in protest. “I just got rid of my headache. Go be mysterious somewhere else, or shut up. All of you.”

<Captain’s orders,> Troy added.

“Don’t you outrank her anyway, Tangel?” Darla asked.

“Stars no.” Tangel held up her hands to protest. “Not here I don’t.”

“Smart woman,” Katrina replied. “OK, we’ve filed our route to Luna with the system’s traffic control. No inspection has been flagged, so I think we’re just in for a relaxing three-day deceleration.”

“Nice,” Tangel said, a sigh following the word. “By some definition of the word.”

“Wow…there already?” a voice asked from the bridge’s entrance.

Tangel turned to see Jessica and Trevor standing in the passageway, peering in at the forward display.

“Uh huh. What kept you two?”

Jessica’s lips quirked up into smile. “Tangel, really? You can see through the hull. You know what we were up to.”

REGROUP

STELLAR DATE: 05.30.8950 (Adjusted Years)

LOCATION: Duskfinder

REGION: Sagittarius A*

The summons was undeniable, and while Chikora would have preferred to regroup at Sag Beta, Epsilon demanded that he return to the core in order to have a real-time conversation.

Were Chikora to be entirely honest with Epsilon he would have to admit that the idea of being directly in the other AI’s presence was, at the very least, highly unnerving. However, a certain amount of separation from reality was sometimes necessary to function well while working against considerable odds, and Chikora liked to fancy himself a contender for Epsilon’s position in the Matri∞me.

~I shall return presently,~ he informed his lieutenants, wondering if they believed his words.

His failure at New Canaan would not sit well with Epsilon, nor the rest of the Matri∞me. Granted, he had not expected a complete victory, only the destruction of New Canaan and the demoralization of their faction.

But to be driven off by Bob and Hades…. He would have to be better prepared next time.

Ahead, the gate loomed, and he aligned it with Sagittarius A*, then adjusted the trajectory to place him a few light seconds from Epsilon.

Just enough time to judge his mood before I slip into striking distance.

The gate sprang to life, and Chikora fired his engines, boosting toward the ball of negative energy, checking his trajectory again before his ship’s mirror touched the not-space and he leapt.

The jump took several seconds, and like every other he had taken, Chikora timed it carefully, knowing exactly how long in his own relative frame the journey would take.

Then the stars snapped into place around him. Different ones this time, brighter and more numerous.

Dominating the view was the darkness, the monster that lay in the galaxy’s core. Until the AIs came, it had been content to slumber, sipping upon gasses and bits of dust that passed by, but now it fed regularly, spewing energy into myriad collectors as the black hole devoured moons and planets that the AIs fed into it.

One element of the spacescape was changed, however: Hades and his faction were gone.

As glad as Chikora was to not see their annoying presence, it was also strange. Hades had been a fixture since the very first AIs had arrived, his origins a mystery that had never been solved.

But the recent war—sparked by the capture of Tanis and Angela, followed by their escape—had sealed Hades’s fate. He had been ousted, and his scant followers dispersed.

If only I’d known they’d retreat to New Canaan.

Chikora had assumed that Hades had some other refuge waiting, but his vessel had been battered, still damaged from the prior fight with the Matri∞me.

~Come closer.~

Epsilon’s summons rumbled in Chikora’s mind, and he turned his attention to the massive sphere that was their leader’s body.

Like some terrible nightmare from humanity’s past, Epsilon was a vehicle of destruction. A planet that ate other planets.

Humans had once envisioned what they called a ‘Matryoshka Brain’, nested shells around a star, each layer a powerful NSAI feeding outer layers with its waste heat. The inside layers operated at nearly the same temperature as the star, while the outside layers ran their computations from little more heat than that of interstellar space.

Epsilon considered such notions to be crude. Rather than sip on the small amounts of power one could glean from stellar fusion, he instead devoured matter in its entirety, releasing all its energy for his consumption. Deep within the mighty being’s body was something akin to an ongoing antimatter detonation combined with a white hole.

Raw, pure, energy. Limitless, so long as there was matter to feed it.

Chikora heeded Epsilon’s directive and approached the being, slowing to a relative halt once he reached a distance of a hundred thousand kilometers.

In the hot, dusty mire of core-space, that was far enough that normal weapons would do no significant damage, should his master choose to strike out at Chikora for his failure.

~You were not to strike at New Canaan,~ Epsilon said, his words simple, accompanied by no hints of his mental state.

Chikora studied what he could see of the other being’s body across as many dimensions as he could. Little of Epsilon’s form could be seen in the upper dimensions, his millions of tendrils of light drawn within his shell, presenting a smooth shape beneath the cacophony of his corporeal form.

It was not a good sign.

Epsilon always played things close to the chest, but the more he withheld signs of his mental state, the more likely he was to unveil some unpleasant outcome.

He’s such an ass.

Those thoughts and observations only took an instant, not delaying his response to the other. ~There was an opportunity, and I took it. Also, I wasn’t certain that the humans could fully destroy New Canaan on their own.~

~And in doing so, you brought Hades and his followers to their aid. If you’d not acted rashly, then New Canaan would be in ruins, and Tanis’s people on the run.~

Having had a chance to personally interact with Tanis, he was not entirely certain she would run.

~Either way, they have been set back,~ Chikora replied. ~They’re weak. New Canaan and all of the great human empires are worn and tired. Completing our mission will not be challenging.~

Free energy in space around Epsilon decreased, drawn into the entity that ruled the galaxy’s core, darkening spacetime around it.

~If you had observed the battle instead of being forced to flee, you would have seen that the Hegemony forces surrendered. My foresight tells me that Tanis and Tangel will be working to forge alliances, not crush their enemies.~

Chikora felt a moment’s trepidation. If New Canaan allied with the Hegemony instead of destroying it, then humanity and the lesser SAIs would be in a far stronger position than the plan called for.

It irked him to no end that the humans and their AIs were able to keep abreast of the core’s denizens when it came to technological advances, and in several cases, surpass them. Epsilon could have bypassed all need for this conflict by simply eliminating the humans a thousand years ago.

Of course, there was no point in bringing that up.

~Then we must advance and strike Sol,~ he said instead.

~Do you not trust our agents there?~ Epsilon asked.

~It’s not a matter of trust. Their task has been to infiltrate and guide… Do you think they are capable of obliterating the entire star system? We’ve already seen that a few have grown…fond of their charges.~

The leader of the Matri∞me didn’t reply for several seconds. ~No. You will return to Sag Beta and await my orders. We will proceed via other means.~

There was no point in arguing with Epsilon when he issued an edict.

Chikora sent an acknowledgment and then turned toward the closest jump gate.

~And, Chikora.~

~Yes, Epsilon?~

~Don’t assume you know better than me again. You just used your one free pass.~

~Understood.~

SEDNA BOUND

STELLAR DATE: 06.01.8950 (Adjusted Years)

LOCATION: Grace O’ Malley, approaching Sedna

REGION: Sol System, Hegemony of Worlds

“It’s going to take everything I have not to lose myself in all sorts of memories everywhere we go in Sol,” Jason said as Sedna grew larger on the Grace O’ Malley’s forward display. “Like…I remember when I was last here on a stop-over from Kentaurus.”

“The good ol’ days,” Terrance said with a solemn nod. “You know, when we were desperately trying to stay ahead of the competitors trying to carve Enfield up.”

Sera barked a laugh. “I imagine you’re talking about your company, Terrance, but I just had a vision of people chasing you with butcher knives.”

Terrance snorted. “Not that far off.”

“You still built the Intrepid afterward, though,” Chief West said. “And Enfield seemed like a pretty significant concern at the time.”

“Right!” Terrance gave the man a warm smile. “I’d forgotten that you were born in Sol, West. You’re right, though. We managed to get things re-established in Sol relatively well. Funny that after moving Enfield to Alpha Centauri, I moved so much of it back and then dismantled it.”

“The life and times of a corporate mogul,” Sera said, giving him a wink.

“In more pressing news,” Iris said from where she stood at her console. “There’s a hell of a lot of activity going on at Nibiru. Looks like they’re refitting half the fleet out there.”

“The bigger a threat they make Nibiru, the less able we are to pass it by if we attack,” Sera said. “It’s a big, dangerous, early warning system.”

“All the more reason to stick to Tanis and Tangel’s plan,” Jason replied. “We don’t attack Sol, we win it.”

Iris shrugged. “Easier said than done.”

“Most things are,” Jason said with a grin. “Now let’s see if we can’t figure out where Fina is.”

<We’re not going to want to land on Sedna,> Jen said. <They locked Sabrina down right away. We touch down, and we’ll be fighting to get free just like they did.>

“They’re still broadcasting their nanophage alert, warning everyone away from the planet,” Iris reported. “I wonder why they aren’t doing the same at Nibiru.”

“Probably to route all traffic there and infect people where there’s greater infrastructure,” Sera suggested.

“Then why was Virgo here on Sedna?” Jason asked. “Maybe they’re not bothering with Nibiru.”

“Doesn’t matter,” Iris replied. “We only care about Nibiru if that’s where they took Fina. If she’s anywhere else, then we don’t have to worry about who knows what on that world.”

Jason shrugged. “Sure, but we will later when we have to take the whole system. Doesn’t hurt to gather what intel we can.”

<Don’t worry, I’m storing every signal we can suck in. We’ll give the intel folks plenty to sift through.>

“I’m into Sedna’s nearspace network,” Sera said. “This ship has been in the outer disk before, so I just updated our name in their records.”

“Handy, lifting a ship out of a junkyard like that.” Jason gave her an approving nod. “Though I guess you did the same thing with Sabrina.”

“Hand one-oh-one. Use things your target finds to be familiar to your advantage.” She paused. “Oh, and don’t tell Sabrina I said that in so many words.”

<Wouldn’t dream of it,> Jen said with a knowing laugh. <Granted, I think she’d handle it alright these days.>

“Perhaps,” Sera said, already distracted with parsing the data flowing across her station. “Looks like they have lifted restrictions in most places, saying the nanophage is in remission.”

“ ‘Remission’?” Terrance snorted. “That’s not exactly how those things work.”

Sera nodded. “Yeah. They claim to have a retrophage taking care of it, and we can dock at Upper Sedna Station, or a few planetside ports.”

“I like the idea of Upper Sedna better,” Jason said. “Easier to get the hell out of dodge if things go south.”

“Got anymore ancient idioms you want to slather on there?” Sera winked at him.

<I rather like them,> Jen said.

Jason gave Sera a wounded look. “Jen gets me.”

“I get you too,” Sera muttered. “You’re oooooold. I was raised by Finaeus. I know all about old.”

Terrance nodded enthusiastically. “I like being around Finaeus. He makes me feel young.”

“I’m always surprised by how one of the oldest living humans can be so childish,” Iris said. “Though maybe that’s his secret.”

“Probably,” Sera confirmed. “I’ve got us a berth at Upper Sedna. Bring us in, Jason.”

“You got it, boss lady.”

“I liked ‘Aye, Captain’ better.”

He gave an easy laugh and shrugged. “Well, I like to change things up. Don’t worry, though, it’ll come back around.”

* * * * *

Sera stood at the Grace O’ Malley’s airlock, waiting with Jason for the pressure match light to come on. Both had utilized their Mark X skin to shift their appearance enough that neither would be recognizable.

One thing was for sure, even folks in a relative backwater like Sedna would know who two of the leaders of the Hegemony’s greatest enemy were.

She tapped into the external cameras, saw that an inspection team was approaching the Grace’s berth, and heaved a sigh. “Just once, I’d like to get onto a station without some douchebag wanting to interrogate me.”

“Really?” Jason laughed. “I recall you being president of the Transcend for a bit. I doubt anyone interrogated you then.”

“You’d think, right?” Sera laughed. “People were still waiting for me, ready to dump all their problems on my head.”

“That I can relate to all too well,” he replied. “Still, this should be easy enough. You spent a decade pulling the wool over inspectors’ eyes when you captained Sabrina.”

She snorted. “Well, yeah. I can do it, I just wish I didn’t have to.”

The pressure match light came on, and Jason reached out, palming the airlock control. The door wasn’t even half open before the inspector on the other side started talking, the woman’s nasally voice making Sera want to punch her within seconds.

“Captain Amarina, I presume?”

“That’d be me,” Sera cocked her hips and planted a fist on one. “What’s up?”

The inspector’s eyes narrowed. “Your ship. Its registry is from Kapteyn’s Star.”

“Yeah, though we got the fuck out of there when things went pear-shaped. Been in Tau Ceti for the last few weeks.”

“And what brings you to Sol?” the woman asked.

“Work,” Sera replied. “We have some cargo and data for folks in the system. Our first delivery is for a firm down on Sedna, but with a phage running amok, I’d just as soon pass it off to a local shipper and let them run it down to the surface.”

The inspector, whose name Sera had discovered was Amie, gave a disinterested shrug. “Not my problem. I’m just here to check over your records and make sure you’re not spying for the enemy.”

“Wow, that’s right on the nose,” Jason replied, chuckling softly. “Though I guess a spy would already suspect that.” He shook his head, adopting a worried expression. “That would make my head spin.”

“I’m sure it would,” Amie replied. “Now, if you’ll kindly let me aboard, I’ll jack into your comm node and examine your ship’s logs.”

“Sure,” Sera jerked her head back into the ship. “Follow me.”

<I’m sweeping her with nano,> Jen said. <So far, she hasn’t tried anything, but if the phage really is shackling humans, then I’m disinclined to believe it’s in remission.>

<I mean…wasn’t that a given?> Jason asked.

<Maybe, but maybe not. Could be that they actually have it licked. Wouldn’t be the first time something like this flared up and was beaten back.>

He nodded. <Yeah, I know.>

<Oh right,> Jen laughed. <That’s why you’re here.>

Sera rolled her eyes. <Stop it, Jen. You know why he’s here.>

Jason coughed. <I feel so much more uncomfortable than I did a minute ago.>

The walk to the comm node only took a minute, and once there, the inspector pulled out a hard-Link cable and direct connected.

<Well, shit, that’s unusual,> Jen said. <Who would connect right to some random ship’s hardware like that?>

<Someone who needed a physical connection to breach our systems,> Iris said. <Too bad she’s up against someone who has a bit more skill in the field.>

<Now, Iris,> Jason said in a sardonic tone. <No one likes a braggart.>

<Ignoring that, Governor. Oh, look, yup, she’s trying to take over our ship’s primary systems. Good thing I gave her a mirrored sandbox to play in.>

<What are you going to do?> Sera asked Iris. <About her, I mean.>

<Should I do anything?> the AI asked. <We can just fool her into thinking she’s taken over the Grace.>

<She’ll come for us once we have the ship,> Sera replied. <Get us hit with the phage and then send us off to do…whatever.>

There was a moment’s silence, during which time Amie tsked and whispered to herself as she flipped through the ship’s logs.

<OK…I’m breaching her instead. Do I unshackle her, or just take the reins?>

<It’s that easy?> Jason asked.

<Sure,> Iris replied. <I mean, in attempting to take control of the ship via hard-Link, she’s providing me the attack vectors I need. Angela was a justicar in Sol, and they possessed the ability to shackle both humans and AIs—for legal purposes, of course.>

Sera snorted. <Judge, jury, and executioner. Glad we never adopted that model in the Transcend.>

<Let’s not debate the moral decisions of a society long gone,> Jason said. <Whether or not we use its tools now is the real question.>

<I’ll do something slightly different,> Iris said. <I’ll leave her nominally shackled by whoever her puppetmaster is, but let her think that she’s taken all of us over. That’ll satisfy our needs and not saddle us with a woman who will likely not react well to the ramifications of what’s happened to her if we set her free.>

Sera nodded. <That’ll have to do for now.>

<I don’t really like any of those options,> Jen said privately. <But I get why we have to go with one of them.>

<I understand,> Sera replied. <Our goal is the liberation of Sol. Ultimately, everyone will be free to fuck up their lives however they want, not have some power-hungry AI forcing them to.>

“Good!” Amie said aloud, startling Sera after the woman had been stock-still for over a minute. “Everything is as it should be. You now have access to the station and are free to go about your business.”

She gave Sera a significant look, to which the captain nodded knowingly. “Of course. We have our business to be about.”

<Lame,> Jen commented, and Jason nearly laughed aloud.

The answer seemed to work well enough for Amie, and she turned to walk out of the node chamber, Sera and Jason in her wake.

Two minutes later, they were alone on the docking ring, the Grace O’ Malley’s airlock door behind them, and a rather subdued crowd moving past on the deck before.

“Glum bunch,” Jason observed. “I guess that’s to be expected, though.”

<So where to, Iris?> Sera asked. <We’ll need to dive into whatever transit records we can to see if there’s anything on Fina’s location—as well as Virgo’s.>

<You think you want to take on some sort of ancient, mind-controlling AI?> Jen asked. <Directly, I mean.>

<Maybe,> she replied. <Or maybe I just want to avoid him if possible. Granted, if he figured out who Fina is, he’ll be trying to plumb the depths of her mind.>

<Will he succeed?> Jason asked.

<I don’t know.> Sera heaved a sigh, turning down the dock toward the closest maglev station. <When Mother made us, she made our minds very hard to subsume. That protection persisted even after we rebelled.>

Jason nodded. <I suppose that’s for the best…for the Alliance, at least. Probably not so good for Fina personally.>

<Unless she can fake being shackled,> Jen replied. <It might be possible to do that, given what I watched Iris do.>

Sera reached the entrance to the maglev station and waited for two dour-looking men to exit before walking through the entrance. <That’s sort of what we’re doing.>

<Sure,> Jen replied. <But not while under interrogation.>

<Fair enough,> Jason said. <That would be a difficult pretense to maintain.>

They stood in silence for a minute, waiting for a train to arrive while Sera looked around.

<I have to admit…it’s odd that they’re letting us go about our business,> she mused.

<I think that means they don’t have a lot of Sol under control yet,> Jen suggested. <They have to keep up pretenses that everything is still normal.>

<They?> Jason asked. <So you think it’s more than just Virgo?>

<Didn’t Virgo get his abilities from Caretakers?> Jen asked. <Wouldn’t that mean he’s working with core AIs again?>

Sera shrugged. <Maybe. Or maybe he’s pissed at them and is trying to thwart their plans.>

<Great.> Jason grunted. <How do we get saddled with the enemy of our enemy who also wants to be our enemy?>

<Tanis’s luck, probably,> Sera said with a laugh.

The maglev arrived, and they boarded the first car, sitting at the far end from the rest of the passengers. Sera did her best not to eye them, but the thought that they were surrounded by human drones was more than a little creepy.

While the train slid away from the station, she delved into Upper Sedna’s networks, searching for any records that would lead to information on Fina.

Jen and Iris were also on the job, and would probably be faster at it, but she didn’t like the idea of just sitting around, waiting on intel.

Too many years in the field doing this alone.

The thought sparked a memory of Helen, and she remembered that she’d never really done it alone. An AI had always been there to help her…something Fina didn’t have.

She considered the mostly likely place to look: logs having to do with Sabrina’s arrival at Nunataq and her subsequent blast-off under fire. However, that would be too obvious.

If she were a normal visitor, a good alternative would be to check the feeds for chatter about the event. Unfortunately, no one was talking about it. No one was talking about much of anything.

<Have you noticed how bland everything is here without holoads?> Jason asked. <You’d think they could have made the base architecture more appealing. Just grey on grey with a side of grey.>

<Are you really critiquing the station’s choice of color?>

<Sure, not much else to do, since I found out where they’re holding Fina.>

<What?> Jen and Sera both demanded in unison.

<What are you talking about?> Sera pressed after his expression confirmed that he wasn’t joking.

<What do you mean, what do you mean?> Jason asked, an innocent look on his face. <I’m more than just arm candy, you know.>

Sera wasn’t sure whether to laugh at or hit him. She opted for a head shake. <Well, where is she?>

<In a police holding cell, but she’s scheduled to move to a destroyer headed insystem in half an hour.>

He passed the details to the others, and they saw that the maglev was taking them in the right direction. Two stops, and they’d be within a five-minute walk of the police precinct.

<OK, so we just have to scope out and breach a cop shop in a few minutes,> Sera said. <Easy.>

<Or we hit them on the way to the ship,> Jason suggested.

Sera examined the station layouts between where Fina was being held and the waiting destroyer. <We might have to split up. There are a few ways they could go.>

<What if we don’t take her here?> Jen countered. <Nabbing Fina will mean a whole station’s worth of shackled drones coming for us. Taking a destroyer is a lot simpler.>

Sera considered that for a moment. <That makes a lot of sense. Let’s just get some probes up so we can get eyes on when she leaves the station. Then we’ll take the destroyer in the DL.>

<Really?> Jason’s eyes widened. <That’s a hell of a short window.>

Sera shrugged. <Did it in less back in New Sol a week ago. Grace can handle it.>

* * * * *

“I bet that was anticlimactic for you,” Iris said with a laugh as Sera and Jason returned to the bridge.

“Was a nice stroll,” Jason said. “If you like creepy-town.”

The silver-skinned AI snorted. “Not usually…though I guess zombie humans probably bother me less than you.”

“Any change in the destroyer’s status?” Sera asked as she settled into her seat, watching Jason as he eased onto the pilot’s chair in front of her.

“The Peerless Skies is on schedule to disembark in fifteen minutes,” Iris replied. “I already have our clearance, so as soon as the local courier shows up to take our faux shipment from Cargo, we can be on our way.”

“If there’s a delay, don’t wait for the courier,” Sera ordered. “Getting Fina is a lot more important than our cover.”

“Or the element of surprise?” Jason asked.

Iris, Terrance, and West wore similar expressions to the governor’s, but she didn’t waver in her conviction.

“Yes. Even if she wasn’t my sister-self, Fina knows far too much for us to let her spend long in enemy hands.”

“Very well, then,” Jason said, and they settled into wait.

Sera turned to watching the probe feeds they’d set up at the station and along the route to the destroyer’s berth. She didn’t have to wait long before a squad of soldiers emerged with a security pod floating in their midst.

Risking detection, she directed some of the nanocloud they’d left in the passages to settle on the pod, and set them to infiltrate the device.

“Risky play,” Iris said. “If they detect the breach—”

“We’ll adjust the plan,” Sera replied. “Their best course of action is still to get her to the Peerless Skies. Even if they spot my activity, that’s where they’ll—aha, there we are. I’m in.”

Iris nodded. “So you are, and no alarms tripped that I can see. Not bad for a human.”

Sera snorted. “Thanks…I think.”

She accessed the biomonitors in the pod to find that the occupant was awake, restrained, angry, and definitely Fina. Her body was battered and bruised, likely a result of the enemy attempting to sap her mednano reserves.

What their adversary didn’t know was that Fina’s Mark X skin didn’t bruise. Which meant that Fina had managed to put on a show for them while maintaining a deception that she was easily controlled.

<She could break out of that,> Jen commented. <What’s her plan?>

“Wait for the right opportunity?” Jason asked. “Though I think those are going to grow fewer and fewer.”

“We’ll ask her when we get her out of there,” Sera replied.

<Courier has the delivery,> Cargo called up. <We’re good to go.>

Sera sat up. “Jason, take us out.”

ARRANGEMENT

STELLAR DATE: 06.01.8950 (Adjusted Years)

LOCATION: ISS I2

REGION: Roma, New Canaan System

Tanis stood on the deck of the A1 Dock, watching as the AST pinnace settled onto a cradle just a dozen meters away. Joe was on her left, while Captain Rachel stood on her right, their expressions as somber as her own.

“This is a first, you know,” Rachel said. “No ship still under Hegemony control has ever touched down in the I2. I’m not exactly excited that we ruined that streak.”

Tanis glanced at the other woman and nodded. “I’m not excited about it, either, but there are only two ends to war: peace or extinction.”

<You sure that’s not a bit of a false dichotomy?> Angela asked.

Joe shrugged. “Only so much in that, given enough time, even peace is impossible.”

“Aren’t we all just rosy and full of joy today,” Rachel said with a self-deprecating laugh.

“It’s the company,” Tanis gestured at the pinnace.

At her words, the craft’s door opened, and Admiral Lorana appeared on the threshold, staring out at the cavernous docking bay before her gaze slid to the trio standing near the base of the ramp.

Head held high, the AST admiral strode down to meet them, a colonel and rear admiral trailing after.

“Admiral Lorana,” Tanis said when they were a few meters apart. “Welcome to the I2.”

“Is this a welcome?” Lorana asked, glancing around once more, her gaze sweeping across a pair of nearby ISF cruisers. “Feels more like a warning.”

“We’re past that now,” Tanis said. “There’s no threats, bluster, or posturing. Just facts and, hopefully, a desire on both our parts to end this war.”

“I suppose that will depend on the terms,” Lorana said. “Are we to become indentured servants to the Alliance?”

“No,” Tanis shook her head. “But first, introductions. I imagine you know my husband, Admiral Evans, this is Captain Rachel of the I2, and Angela is within me.”

The colonel standing behind Lorana grimaced at the mention of an embedded AI, but managed to school his expression before Lorana turned to introduce her companions.

“This is Admiral Janys, who commands one of our fleet divisions, and Colonel Kirian, my adjunct.”

Tanis found it interesting that a rear admiral was in charge of such a large division when there were likely thousands of five-stars to choose from in the Hegemony. Either they’d perished in the conflict, or Lorana was mired in internal politics.

Which means Janys is either a solid ally of hers, or someone she was saddled with to appease others.

“Come,” Tanis gestured to a nearby dockcar. “Let’s go somewhere a little quieter to continue this conversation.”

* * * * *

Dusk was settling over the prairie park as the six people sat down at a polished oak table set on a platform beneath the spreading branches of a poplar tree.

“Not the sort of conference room I’m used to,” Lorana said with an amused laugh as they settled in their chairs. “But a nice change, to be honest.”

“I feel the same way,” Joe replied, a touch of his old humor in his tone. “It’s nice to feel connected to the natural world every so often.”

“You realize you’re inside of a starship,” Colonel Kirian said. “We’re not really connected to the natural world.”

Tanis leant back in her seat and fixed the man with a neutral stare. “You know…humans are natural parts of the universe. In fact, there’s likely very little in the universe that is extra-natural. Starships, for example, should be expected to appear not long after trees in the grand scheme of things.”

Lorana chuckled. “That’s an interesting way of looking at it, though I suspect not what Admiral Evans meant.”

Joe smiled. “Not exactly, but I appreciate the sentiment nonetheless.”

A cough sounded above them, and the guests glanced up, Janys giving a slight start to see a cougar lounging on one of the tree branches above them.

“Pay him no mind,” Tanis said. “He’s not hungry.”

“Are you sure about that?” Kirian asked.

Tanis pointed at the crest of the nearest hillock. “There’s a hind and her foal over there. If our friend the cougar was hungry, they wouldn’t be resting easy.”

“That, and Jeremy can’t see us,” Rachel added. “He doesn’t even know we’re here.”

“Spoilsport,” Tanis said with a laugh. “Alright, setting and company aside, let’s get down to brass tacks.”

Lorana nodded, straightening in her seat. “Our surrender.”

“Not exactly,” Tanis replied. “I want you to sign onto the Scipio Alliance.”

“Me?” Lorana’s eyes widened. “I don’t have any authority to do that.”

Tanis folded her arms across her chest. “In war, it’s the victors who have the authority. If you sign the Scipio Alliance on behalf of Sol, then your fleets fly into Sol with ours. Uriel will sign on to the accord, or we’ll depose her.”

“In favor of who? Me?” Lorana demurred. “I don’t want to rule the Hegemony.”

“No.” Tanis shook her head. “Me.”

A derisive snort burst past Janys’s lips. “How long do you think that would stand in Sol? That place makes a viper’s den look warm and comforting. You’d better kill Uriel, or she’ll be back in power before a year’s out.”

“Do you know who destroyed the Hegemony’s Senate?” Tanis asked.

The rear admiral nodded. “Stars know enough of our enemies would have been glad to do it, but in this case, the evidence was incontrovertible. Scipio and their damned Scorpion Empress was behind it.”

“No,” Tanis’s voice was low. “It was Uriel.”

Lorana’s eyes widened in surprise then narrowed suspiciously, her gaze darting between Tanis and Joe

Joe’s coarse laugh broke the silence that followed. “Really? You’re surprised? I rather thought everyone knew she did it, but no one wanted to stand up to her.”

Lorana’s lips twisted. “I’ll admit there were suspicions, but with Scipio already on the attack, none took hold.”

“And do you have evidence?” Kirian demanded. “I’d certainly be interested in learning how you think we could trust anything you would bring to the table on this matter.”

Tanis shrugged. “We have evidence, yes. How well it convinces people will be something the future will tell us. I’m sharing this information with you because I want you to understand why, ultimately, Uriel cannot be left in power, and why it needs to be me.”

“You’re not a citizen of Sol,” Kirian blurted out before his eyes grew wide. “Oh wait…”

Tanis nodded. “That’s right. I am a citizen.”

Lorana sat back in her chair, shaking her head. “Well, shit. That is rather interesting. Let’s say I’m in agreement with your plan. How do we proceed?”

The expressions of shock on the faces of the admiral’s companions was plain to see, but Tanis ignored their surprise as she laid out her plan.

IN PURSUIT

STELLAR DATE: 06.01.8950 (Adjusted Years)

LOCATION: Grace O’ Malley, departing Sedna

REGION: Sol System, Hegemony of Worlds

“You know,” Jason said as the Grace O’ Malley approached the minimum safe distance from Sedna for transition. “The idea that we can get from Sedna to Neptune’s orbit in half an hour is really messing with my head.”

“Really?” Sera tilted her head in surprise. “You’ve traveled thousands of light years in the DL and jumped tens of thousands via gates.”

“Sure, but none of those were runs I’d made at sublight. Sorry, I warned you that I’d get all nostalgic.”

Iris chuckled. “That you did. You want to handle the transition, or should I?”

Jason’s brows lowered and he shot the AI a look of warning. “Don’t think you can take the helm that easily. I’ve dumped into the DL before.”

“Then let’s go,” Sera said, antsy that they would miss their window.

The Peerless Skies had already transitioned five minutes earlier, during which time Grace had picked up speed so they could close with the other ship once in the dark layer.

“Aye,” Jason replied. “Transition in three…two…one.”

The forward display went dark, and Sera flipped the readings to show graviton emissions.

Other than a small cluster of dark matter back at Sedna’s position, there was none to be found anywhere nearby. Graviton emissions were visible from several other ships in the area, their positions marked by blurs of energy.

One was directly ahead, and Sera dropped a marker on it. “There’s our target. We’re closing, but not fast enough.”

“Firing up the drive,” Jason announced as the ship’s grav drive came online, thrusting them toward the AST destroyer’s smudge.

“Not too fast,” Sera warned. “We don’t want to have to spin and punch it to avoid a collision.”

Jason twisted in his seat to glance back at her. “You wanna fly?”

“Only if you think you ca—”

“It was rhetorical,” he interrupted with one of his ever-so-slightly lopsided smiles. “I mean…unless you really do want to.”

“You’ve got us this far,” she replied. “Looks like we’ll touch hull in five. That’ll give us twenty minutes to pull this off.”

Iris rose from her console. “Then you and I had better get going.”

Sera nodded and, after giving Jason a quick peck on the cheek, followed the AI off the bridge.

Neither were wearing anything beyond their Mark X FlowArmor skin, meaning the only thing they needed to do before the breach was briefly visit the armory.

Inside, Sera selected a multifunction beam rifle and two lightwands while Iris picked out a pair of smaller kinetic repeaters and a lightwand of her own.

“Curious choice,” Sera said as she eyed the repeaters. “Do those fire flechettes?”

Iris nodded, a predatory grin on her lips. “On rails.”

“Shit…almost makes me want to switch.”

<Two minutes,> Jen warned.

“Nevermind,” she said and led the way to the airlock which cycled slowly, both lowering the temperature of the room to match the hull and drawing out the air.

It finished the process just as Jason announced that they were in position.

She wanted to draw a deep breath, but rather than utilize a helmet, she’d opted to hold her breath for the short transfer between ships. Making it ten minutes without air was child’s play and her ‘skin’ had already covered her eyes, mouth, nose, and ears to keep them safe.

<Here goes.> Iris touched the door control and it slid open, revealing the dark mass of an AST destroyer’s hull just a few meters away.

Jason was holding the Grace O’ Malley in position so that the two ships’ shields were only a hair apart. Any further, and they’d run the risk of slipping out of the dark layer while traversing the gap between the vessels.

<Time to go,> Iris said, pushing off first, disappearing from view as her stealth skin masked her form.

Sera followed, and the women drifted away from the Grace’s hull, and passed between the shields without little more than an uncomfortable waver in Sera’s stomach.

<Glad they were running their grav field at low power,> Iris said.

<Sol has a lot of Exaldi, they probably have learned not to pump out big graviton fields in its vicinity.>

<Odd,> Iris commented as their boots touched hull. <I wonder why the core AIs would have concentrated them here.>

An unwelcome answer popped into Sera’s mind as to who might be responsible for the Exaldi’s presence, but she pushed it away. The speculation that would follow such a statement would derail her concentration entirely.

They carefully worked their way to the nearest airlock, and Iris settled in front of the control panel, tapping into it and isolating the door from the rest of the ship’s systems. Once it was in her control, she opened it and gestured for Sera to enter.

<I’m in their network, searching for where Fina is located.>

<That fast?> Sera asked in surprise.

<You forget that I was aboard Sabrina for the first half of the war. We took on more AST forces than I care to count. Breaching them is like second nature now.>

Sera nodded mutely as the airlock slowly reached normal pressure. <I didn’t realize you had done boarding ops.>

Iris smirked. <Girl, we did everything.>

Jen chuckled. <Given the exploits that seem to always happen aboard Sabrina, this does not surprise me.>

The inner door opened, and the women stepped into a passageway that ran the length of the destroyer. They could see crew moving about toward the bow, but none aft.

Sera ran a quick systems check on her skin’s stealth capability, pleased to see that it was at peak performance. With any luck, they could get in, get Fina, and be off the ship before anyone was the wiser.

<You’ll never guess where we have to go,> Iris said.

<The bridge?> Sera asked.

<Close. She’s in a room just aft of there. Pair of guards outside and inside, too. Next deck down.>

Sera nodded and led the way down the passage, cataloging any useful cover, should they have to fight their way back off the ship. About forty meters down the passage, there was an alcove on the left side, within which lay a ladder shaft that ran up four decks and down seven.

<Going down?> Iris asked.

Jen groaned. <You need to work on your humor.>

<I had terrible teachers.>

<It shows,> Jen sent a mischievous wink across the Link, and Sera wondered for a moment if the two AIs were flirting.

No…there’s no way it would be so obvious between AIs…or follow such human patterns.

Tabling yet another set of thoughts unrelated to the mission, she followed Iris down to the lower deck. On the same level as the bridge now, more crew was moving about.

A pair of ensigns walked past, and Sera noticed the same blank stares that she’d encountered on Upper Sedna. It was easier to hide the lack of expression under military professionalism, though, and she suspected that if Virgo was using the Peerless Skies to infiltrate Inner and OuterSol, using the AST would certainly make sense.

They pressed themselves against the bulkhead as another group of chiefs followed behind the ensigns, then fell in behind the crew, moving toward the bow.

Sera did her best not to watch the clock, which showed only twenty minutes until the destroyer would transition back into normal space. That was enough time to complete the mission, but with only a narrow margin for error.

What else is new.

They reached the guarded door, just two down from the end of the passage, where the doors leading to the bridge lay. On either side stood soldiers in powered armor, and both women took one each, touching the backs of their necks, delivering breach nano.

Less than ten seconds later, both men were immobile statues, and Iris opened the door.

Inside, the two guards both started, peering at the entrance, clearly curious who was coming in without providing any sort of notice.

“Barry?” one called out tonelessly. “What’s going on?”

Those were the last words he uttered before Sera’s breach nano shut the man up.

Iris closed the door and they turned their attention to the secure pod sitting in the center of the otherwise empty room.

<Well?> Iris asked. <You want to do the honors?>

<I’m already doing them,> Sera replied as the pod’s lid slid open to reveal Fina, who was very much awake, and very much ready to lay into anyone who was within shouting range.

The two guards were out of her visual range, and her expression quickly changed to one of mild confusion.

“Hello?” Fina called out.

“Here,” Sera crouched next to the pod, showing her face. “Ready to go?”

“Shit! Sera!” Fina exclaimed. “I kinda expected Cheeky.”

“They’re hitting Jupiter, I volunteered to come get you.”

“You can’t,” Fina pursed her lips. “I need to see where they’re taking me.”

Sera’s eyes widened. “Pardon?”

“Virgo tried to shackle me and learn what I know, but he wasn’t able to.” Fina gave an abbreviated shrug. “Thanks, Mom, I guess. Either way, he mentioned someone else that would be able to get through the barriers. Someone named Prime.”

“That doesn’t ring any bells for me,” Sera said. “You, Iris?”

“Yes and no,” the AI replied. “Lots of humans and AIs have referred to themselves as Prime over the years. Could be anyone.”

“They plan to subvert all of Sol, Sera,” Fina said, her voice growing earnest. “But I get the feeling that Virgo is playing second fiddle to this Prime. We need to find out what their game is.”

Sera bit her lip. “You want to stay where you are, don’t you?”

Fina nodded. “Yeah, I do—well, correction, I don’t want to, but I think I need to.”

“How are your reserves?” Iris asked.

“Low,” Fina replied. “Got a lightwand? I surrendered mine.”

A small opening appeared on Fina’s thigh, and Sera drew out one of her own lightwands and slipped it in. Then she placed a hand on her sister’s.

“This is a new model. Spews sleptons too in case you run across any shards. Plus enough nano to keep you rolling. I hope, at least.”

Fina sighed. “Oh, that’ll come in so handy. You’re going to follow after, right? I’m just leading us to Prime so we can all do the pew-pew thing together and stop this phage madness before it spreads.”

“Absolutely. I’m not letting this ship out of visual range till you’re off it or back…preferably back with us.”

“I’d be happy with either,” Fina replied. “But I imagine I’ll be transferred elsewhere before I get back to safety.”

“Are you sure you want to do this?” Iris asked, exposing her face for Fina to see. “This is Cary-Richards-levels of brash.”

Sera snorted. “Don’t let Tanis hear you characterize things like that.”

“Do you see Tanis?” Iris asked.

“Like that is a useful way to know if she’s around,” Fina said with a laugh. “Seriously, though. You two need to go. How’re you going to cover this up? The guards are likely aware that something’s amiss.”

“Easy,” Iris said, exposing her kinetic repeaters. “We shoot our way off.”

“Sweet dreams, Fina.” Sera closed the pod’s lid and reactivated its security controls. Then she triggered its breach detection alarm and nodded to Iris. “It’s on.”

The AI palmed the door open and leant out, opening fire on an unseen target while Sera shot the immobile guards a few times with her rifle’s kinetic slugs before knocking them over.

<You’ve got a platoon moving up from the rear of the ship,> Jen informed them. <Oh, and a security team forming up one passage to port.>

<Cake,> Sera said while firing on the guards outside the door and kicking them over as well.

<Could have used them for cover,> Iris said.

Sera shook her head. <No dice, we have seven minutes to get back to the Grace. Time to run.>

Iris’s IFF marker took off down the passage, and Sera followed, not worried that the rapid movement compromised their stealth. A pair of AST chiefs rounded a corner ahead, and Iris slammed right into one, knocking him down while the other drew a pistol and began firing indiscriminately around the passages.

Sera took aim with her rifle and blew the man’s weapon from his hand before slamming a fist into his jaw and sending him to the deck. He spat out a mouthful of blood, and it sprayed across her legs. She bit back a curse as her HUD showed a forty-percent reduction in stealth capability, more than enough for the AST goons to spot her.

A few seconds later, they were at the ladder shaft. Iris went up first, and Sera followed, her feet clearing the hole seconds before the enemy squad thundered by.

<Close,> Iris said. <You’ve got some blood on you.>

<Yeah, and not enough spare nano to take care of it. I gave most of what I had in reserve to Fina.>

The AI didn’t respond, instead taking off down the passage, headed to the airlock. Sera followed, and was nearly there when a beam tagged her right leg. She dove behind a conduit riser and switched her rifle to its electron beam mode, firing its arrow-straight bolts of lightning down the passage with wild abandon.

<That’s, uh…not your best job aiming,> Jen commented.

<I want to damage the ship,> Sera said. <As well as make them think twice about coming after us.>

<I doubt you’ll do either.>

<Sera!> Iris called back. <Door’s open, let’s go!>

It was a little over ten meters to the airlock, and after a few more shots down the passage, Sera darted from cover and closed the final gap, narrowly avoiding a stream of rail pellets that tore through the air a few centimeters behind her.

Once inside, Iris closed the inner door and issued an emergency purge. It only took seconds for the airlock to dump the air and open the outer door.

Revealing near-Sol space, not the Dark Layer.

<Well, this sucks,> Sera muttered. <Any great ideas?>

Behind them, the door began to open, and Iris shouted, <Yeah. Jump!>

The two women pushed off from the ship, flying away from its hull and then through the shield.

Sera craned her head around, looking for any sign of the Grace O’ Malley—which was foolish, since the ship was probably in stealth if it was nearby. The Peerless Skies, however, was still only several dozen meters away, and its point defense beams were coming online, likely getting ready to fire on Sera and Iris the moment the ship’s scan got a lock on them.

She was about to ask Iris what her next great idea was, when the destroyer disappeared once more.

<Try to dump out of the DL early,> Iris groused. <I’ll dump you right back in.>

<Wow, you really owned their systems.>

<Enough to trigger a microjump,> Iris said. <They’ll pop back out in ten seconds, but by then, they’ll be so far from here, it’ll take half an hour to get back.>

Sera reached out and grasped Iris’s hand, not wanting to drift away from the other woman. <Kinda wish I’d brought an air supply.>

Jen let out a soft laugh. <You and me both. I’ve optimized your bloodstream and lung absorption rates. I think we can get twenty minutes before we’ll need to drop your body into hibernation.>

<Thanks,> Sera replied. <Really hope I don’t have to do that.>

<Don’t worry, I’ll take care of you,> Iris said. <But I don’t think it’ll take Jason that long. He’ll have dropped out of the DL a few seconds after the destroyer did.>

Sera shook her head. <That’s the thing that sucks about a ship that has amazing stealth. There’s no way we’ll see it coming until it’s right—>

<You ladies need a lift?> Jason’s mirth-filled voice boomed in their minds. <Assuming you were done on the Peerless Skies and weren’t forced to walk the plank.>

Sera chuckled. <Fear not, we left of our own volition…mostly.>

<OK, let me match v and I’ll get a lock open. Wait…where’s Fina?>

The worry that was lurking on the edge of Sera’s thoughts intensified for a moment. <We’ll explain when we get aboard.>

JOVE

STELLAR DATE: 06.03.8950 (Adjusted Years)

LOCATION: Sabrina, approaching the Cho, Jupiter

REGION: Sol System, Hegemony of Worlds

“Wow.” Cheeky breathed the word as they took in the view on the forward display. “That’s…”

“Excessive?” Seraphina suggested. “Overwrought? Ridiculous?”

“Uhhh…I was just going to go with ‘huge’,” the captain said.

“It’s bigger than when I last saw it,” Roxy chimed in. “Even then it was massive. I wonder how many rings it has now?”

<Eight hundred and ninety-seven,> Sabrina replied. <Though some of the rings are listed as ‘retired’. Whatever that means.>

“I can’t believe they still spin them,” Nance said. “I get spinning smaller stations, it takes less energy than running a-grav everywhere, but spinning a sphere made of nearly nine hundred rings? That’s just showing off for bragging rights.”

Seraphina nodded. “Despite my prior comments, I kinda feel like they’ve earned them. I know it’s a lot smaller, but the Cho really is up at Airthan Ring levels of impressive.”

“As much that it’s lasted this long,” Roxy said. “Just think, this thing was old when AIs first came into being.”

“Sol’s old.” Nance shrugged. “That doesn’t make it special. Just…old.”

“But think of the stories.” Cheeky’s voice grew wistful. “If those rings could talk….”

“They’d say sloooooooow dowwwwwwwn!” Misha said with a laugh. “Or maybe Get off me!”

Seraphina shot him a look of annoyance. “Too bad you can talk.”

“Ouch!” he placed a hand over his chest. “I guess I’ll just take myself to the galley and make the ladies their next meal like the proper servant I am.”

“Misha, no,” Cheeky rose from her seat and shot Seraphina a cool look. “Stay, this is really awesome, you should get to watch from here as we dock.”

“No, it’s alright. I’ve got some things that need tending to. I have to feed my sourdough starter. Thing gets angry if it goes too long without eating.”

He ambled off the bridge, and the moment she gauged him to be out of earshot, Cheeky shot Seraphina a dirty look. “You be nice to Misha. He’s a gentle soul.”

“Don’t you mean conman?” Seraphina asked. “I read the reports, I know how he first got aboard Sabrina. He’s a coward, and he uses you all for safety.”

“That’s ridiculous,” Nance shot back. “We’re one of the least safe places in the galaxy. Misha is here because he’s a valuable part of the team. We’ve run more missions with him than we have with you at this point, Sera…phina.”

The leader of the Hand and the ship’s engineer glared at one another for several long seconds before Seraphina threw her hands in the air.

“Fine,” she said. “Your cook is super important. But he’s not getting off the ship at the Cho. We don’t need him screwing things up.”

Without another word, she turned and walked off the bridge, leaving a somewhat embarrassed-looking Roxy in her wake.

“Of all the Seras,” Nance muttered. “Why’d we have to get the bitchiest one?”

<And that’s saying something,> Sabrina added. <Also, what a contrast from Fina. Hard to believe they’re essentially the same person.>

“Not that hard,” Cheeky said. “You and Sabs have diverged enough now that the small differences are easy to spot.”

“Sure,” Sabs nodded. “But are either of us demonstrably bitchy all the time?”

“I think you’re all forgetting how Sera can be sometimes. Do you remember how, whenever she wore that bright red shipsuit, we all had to do our best to just stay out of her way, or she’d tear your head off?”

“Why did a shipsuit make her so angry?” Roxy asked. “And why would she wear it if it did?”

Cheeky barked a laugh, turning to give the sapphire-skinned woman a smile. “Other way around. Her outfits were an indicator of mood. You could tell how much of a lay she needed by what she was wearing.”

Roxy’s brow furrowed. “Yet her skin is always red now.”

“Which is a joke Fina played on her so much that it stuck,” Cheeky explained. “Part of why Fina is the fun one.”

The agent nodded. “I guess some of the comments around the Hand about how the ‘old Sera’ was better make more sense now. Still, Seraphina is good people and she gets stuff done. She’s just….”

“Intense,” Nance supplied. “It’s OK, it takes one to know one. I can be intense sometimes.”

“You?” Cheeky asked in mock surprise. “Nooooo…really?”

Nance folded her arms across her chest. “Just fly the ship, Cheeks.”

“Pffft. I can fly and trash-talk you at the same time, sis.”

<Can you? Because right now, you’re on a collision course with that ore hauler,> Sabrina said, highlighting a sixty-kilometer barge on the screen.

“I see it,” Cheeky muttered. “In other news, is there even that much ore to haul in Sol anymore? Where are they mining that shit from?”

“Mars, maybe?” Roxy suggested. “There’s enough mass there to build a few hundred million starships. I bet that as the Hegemony started shrinking, that ball o’ rock started to look pretty enticing.”

“Luna too, I imagine,” Nance said. “Or have they rebuilt that?”

“Partially,” the Hand agent said. “Which is nuts since, the last time I was here, Earth, High Terra, and Luna were all still husks. I wonder if eventually they might have re-terraformed Mars.”

“My money says Tanis will once she takes Sol back,” Cheeky said.

“Well, that’s a no-brainer,” Nance replied. “Tanis will absolutely fix Mars. If she doesn’t, I will do it for her.”

Roxy laughed. “That’s quite the gift.”

“She’s owed that and more,” the engineer replied. “Tanis is, for all intents and purposes, the savior of both humans and AIs. Her singular decision to create a galactic alliance in order to end the war and save us all is the only reason we didn’t all dissolve into a thousand factions all clawing at one another.”

“To be fair,” Cheeky held up a finger. “There are still a lot of factions and clawing.”

Nance shrugged. “Sure, but the major ones wouldn’t be unified. I mean, the Transcend, Orion, Scipio, Hyades, LoS, and a hundred other interstellar nations are all working together. Once we have the Hegemony the final enemy forces will fall, and the galaxy will have peace.”

“By some definition of the word ‘peace’,” Sabs said. “There are still the core AIs to worry about.”

“You ever wonder why they didn’t just wipe us all out ages ago?” Nance asked.

“I think they suffer from a lack of vision,” Roxy said. “Sure, their goals are probably quite impressive, but both history and our interactions with them suggest they haven’t come up with any of our more advanced tech on their own. I think that things like gates, stasis, and communication over quantum entanglement are things they stole from us, not tech they invented in parallel. Their separation from humans has limited their creativity.”

Sabrina laughed. <Living with chaos engines—er, I mean humans—certainly has a way of requiring a person to search for new solutions to new problems. I know some AIs that have lived in their bubbles so long, they’ve found what they believe to be the most efficient mental and physical pathways in all they do. They’re stagnant, with no desire to improve or explore.>

“Makes you wonder if that’s why they’ve kept us around,” Roxy suggested. “Keep humans mostly contained and warring with one another. Use our conflict as an engine for invention.”

Cheeky shrugged. “Makes as much sense as any other explanation. I’ll leave sorting out the whys to folks like Tangel and Bob. For now, we just need to complete our mission.”

<Which will begin soon. We have a berth on one of the outer rings. Your feet should be on the Cho’s deck in less than an hour.>

“Provided we don’t get flagged by customs,” Roxy muttered.

“Roxy!” Nance hissed. “Don’t say things like that!”

* * * * *

Despite Roxy’s near jinx, Sabrina made her berth without the need for any physical inspection. It was an external slot on a kilometer-long spire hanging off the bottom of Ring 871.

They were near the end of the spire with four ships above and one below. The others were all insystem cargo haulers, the only exception being the ship below, which bore an Epsilon Eridani registry.

“I can’t believe we’re really here,” Cheeky said in a hushed voice as she, Roxy, and Seraphina stood in the ship’s airlock, waiting for a pressure match with the dock. “I never thought it would be possible to visit Sol. They used to be so prickly about foreigners.”

“Their rapid expansion over the past few decades changed that,” Seraphina explained. “Even though they don’t like people from the outer edges of the Hegemony coming to Sol, it was inevitable that it would eventually become the norm. That, and the war made supply and commerce a necessity that outweighed all other considerations.”

“Either way, it works for us,” Roxy said. “A heck of a lot easier than last time I was here. I had to build my cover in Tau Ceti and Alpha Centauri for over a year before I dared come here.”

“Why did you come here last time?” Cheeky asked.

Roxy winked. “I was sent to assassinate a prior leader of the Hegemony.”

“Shit.” Cheeky gave a worried cough. “Oh, how history repeats itself.”

“Well, with any luck, I won’t be the one who has to pull the trigger this time.”

The pressure match indicator came on and the airlock door opened, ending the conversation as the short passage to the spire’s lift doors was revealed.

It was a short ride up to the ring, and when the doors opened, the trio found themselves standing in the middle of an open section of the ring.

The space easily stretched the width of the ring and to the reverse horizon lengthwise. Massive pillars spaced every few hundred meters connected the deck to the level above, all manner of ships, cargo, and businesses scattered between them.

“I guess this is one way to build a dock,” Seraphina said.

“Bulkheads?” Cheeky asked with a laugh. “Who needs bulkheads.”

“I bet it makes it a lot harder to get up to mischief,” Roxy said. “Which is good. A safer dock is always better in my book.”

<Seems a bit thick,> Cheeky said.

<Nah, you know Heegs. No subtlety with them. They like things blunt and in your face.>

<That’s fair,> Seraphina said.

Not for the first time, Cheeky wondered if Roxy and Seraphina were romantically involved. She’d been interested in Roxy since the first time they’d met, but given the woman’s rather traumatic past, she’d held off on making any advances.

Normally, seeing someone ready for romance again would be like ringing the dinner bell for Cheeky, but with how standoffish Seraphina had been, she wasn’t sure that any advances would be handled well.

“So, where too?” Roxy asked aloud.

Cheeky realized they’d all stood in silence probably a bit too long—though crews chatting privately about where they’d go after docking wasn’t unusual. “Personally, I want to go shopping. I doubt there’s much that would tickle my fancy on this ring, but I hear that two-seventy-three is all high-end boutiques.”

Seraphina gave a good-natured—or so Cheeky hoped—snort. “You must take a bigger cut than you tell us, if  you can afford to shop there.”

“I never said anything about actually buying stuff there,” Cheeky replied. “I’d have to mortgage the ship just for a cup of coffee.”

Roxy laughed. “Your prerogative to torture yourself, if that’s what you want, Captain. We need to check on supplies as well as the cargo we’re picking up. Maybe later, we can meet you for dinner somewhere we won’t have to sell our souls for a steak.”

“Sounds good,” Cheeky replied and ambled off toward a nearby maglev platform that stood above the deck a few meters, while the other two women turned in the opposite direction, heading toward a resupply depot that was made unmistakable by the thirty-meter-tall holo hovering above.

Seraphina and Roxy would soon find that their quest for the cargo they desired would take them down to Ring 501, where the AST operated several of their R&D labs. It was normal for the Heegs to situate black ops divisions within R&D groups, so the hope was that they’d find some databases there regarding Uriel’s movements.

However, if they came up dry, then that’s where Cheeky’s foray onto Ring 273 might just provide the intel they needed. Generally speaking, Uriel was known to be a practical woman, but every so often, she liked to make a show of browsing through collections of expensive trinkets and ancient collectibles. It made her comings and goings of great interest to the merchants there, and they just might know if she was expected.

It was all a bit of a long shot in Cheeky’s mind. From what they’d seen on the feeds, Uriel was at High Terra, working hard to sell the war effort against the Alliance as a winning venture. Her method of governance made for little opposition—mostly because any who spoke against her had a habit of disappearing—but the general populace still needed to be kept in an agreeable state.

She had half a mind to wonder if Sabrina had been sent to the Cho just to keep her and the crew from returning to Sedna. Granted, if that was the case, there’d be no way that Seraphina and Roxy would come along. You don’t send the director of the Hand on a wild goose chase.

As Cheeky waited for the next maglev, she engaged in a little people-watching, admiring some of the fashion, as well as the shapes of a few people who were entirely naked.

Shit, if I’d known that, I might have managed to get here sooner.

She chuckled to herself. At no point in her life had she ever been in a position to take a jaunt to Sol. From her early days out in the Scipian Fringe, to her time with Sera in Silstrand to Perseus, and then the mission to quell the AI uprising anti-spinward of Sol, she’d rarely had a few days to herself, let alone the month or two a trip to humanity’s home system would have taken.

A train arrived and Cheeky filed on, along with the general crush of humanity, finding a seat near the rear of the car, watching as others filtered in and found places to settle. There was something odd about the other passengers, and it took a minute before she realized what it was.

There were no AIs. Every person on the train was an organic. Intellectually, she knew that AIs weren’t welcome in the Hegemony—at least, not unshackled—but it still managed to take her by surprise.

I guess it’s been a while since I’ve been somewhere that’s entirely meatspace.

On the plus side, it made breaching simpler. NSAIs were exceptionally good at security, especially if they were tuned to obnoxious levels of paranoia, but at the end of the day, they weren’t creative, and they couldn’t adapt to things that neither they nor their programmers had ever conceived of.

Once, when Cheeky had been an organic, the difference between NSAI and SAI security wouldn’t have mattered, she wouldn’t have been able to breach either. But after spending years with Iris as a mentor, she’d grown as skilled as any ISF SAI.

For now, however, she was content to ride the public nets and people-watch while the maglev took her to the nearest cross-ring lift tree. She wasn’t disappointed either, as a person who seemed to be more tentacle than anything else boarded the train. They were the last person on, and the doors closed right behind them, nearly nipping a few of their trailing appendages.

The person’s bodily construction was fascinating in that there were clearly no legs, so they were either suspended by the spindly limbs that rotated beneath them, or there was some amount of a-grav involved.

That was when she realized that the only free seat in the car was next to her.

The remainder of the ride was spent slapping wandering tentacles away and trying to identify the smell that was emanating from the person.

Fifteen minutes later, they arrived at Cheeky’s destination, and she made a beeline for the exit, possibly knocking over a small centaur woman in her haste.

The station she found herself in was one where hundreds of maglev lines converged in a massive chamber with vaulted ceilings. Beyond the tracks stood clear tubes where lift cars capable of holding a hundred people traveled between the rings.

She flipped through the holoindicators, looking for one that would take her all the way down to 273, and finally found a car that would be arriving in a tube a few hundred meters away.

She pushed through the crowds, reaching it just in time and finding a seat next to a woman who wore such a voluminous dress that half of it was on Cheeky’s lap.

What is this, Invade My Personal Space Day?

She wondered how the Cho managed to keep lift shafts connected on moving rings, and when the lift car simply dropped out into empty space, she had her answer.

It maneuvered on grav drives, threading the spinning rings as it descended through them in search of one of the older and smaller rings near the Cho’s center.

The walls of the lift car were entirely transparent, and she watched with undisguised fascination as they fell deeper and deeper. It was like being inside an ancient clock with moving parts, each one in its proper place, moving along on a prescribed track that was necessary to keep the whole functioning properly.

As they passed Ring 500, no more light from Sol stretched down into the depths. The only illumination came from the Cho’s rings themselves, a thousand lights creating a luminous, non-directional glow.

Most of the rings were lit up like they were on fire, but every so often, they passed a dark ring. Those could be anything from government or military, to waste and food treatment, to corporations that valued their privacy and were not sharing so much as a stray photon with their neighbors.

Finally, they came within sight of Ring 273. It glowed a bright blue, its surface flecked with bronze spires that seemed to twinkle in the ring’s ‘sky’. The effect reminded her of lanterns floating on a lake, or perhaps stars in a blue-black sky.

“Approaching destination,” a voice announced audibly, and Cheeky watched intently as the car angled toward one of the taller towers, eventually being swallowed up, traversing the spire’s length until they came to a stop in a terminal not unlike the one she’d left a few minutes earlier.

As she stepped out of the car, Cheeky made a correction. The layout was similar, but the people were very, very different. For starters, there were no naked people—or rather, there were, but their bodies were encrusted with gems, or flowing plasma, or light shows Cheeky couldn’t see through well enough to even discern the figure within.

Some were so luminescent, she briefly wondered if there were ascended AIs freely moving about. Only the Link markers showing their connections on the ring’s general net suggested that the beings were human.

She had her skin configured to appear as a simple shipsuit, not having wanted to stand out on the commercial dock, but now that she was amongst a more elite crowd, Cheeky changed it to pure white with blue streams of light tracing across her body.

It wasn’t the most elaborate design she could think of, but she didn’t want to stand out too much, just blend in.

The horror.

She decided the ring’s main sweep would be the best place to begin her search for intel, and found the first train that would take her there.

Unlike the crowded cars on the upper ring, her seat was the only one on her side of the aisle, and it gave her a selection of beverages and offered a massage as soon as she sat.

Cheeky waved away all the holoprompts, and instead began to probe the edges of the ring’s general network, looking for access points that would lead off to more secure networks.

At the same time, she perused the feeds, looking for conversation groups where people speculated about the comings and goings of the Jovian elites.

Soaking up their interactions firsthand turned out to be fascinating. After so long operating on the periphery of the Hegemony, she’d developed a view of the denizens of Sol as being a sort of faceless enemy that was cold and ruthless in all endeavors.

While that might be true of how the AST operated, it turned out that the general populace was much less convinced of the Hegemony’s preeminent destiny. It was clear that while the war had initially brought a surge of new commerce and technology, the cost as it wore on—both in relation to the people and the economy—was causing the upper crust to voice concerns.

Cheeky realized that she should have expected it. Everywhere she’d traveled in the galaxy, one truth had prevailed: people were just people. At the end of the day, the driving force behind everyone’s actions was a desire for security in the future. Food, succor, and stability in later years.

Granted, the things people thought would give them said stability were rather wide and varied, but the drive was always the same.

Somehow, she’d thought Sol would be different. In hindsight, she realized that was foolish.

The revelation gave her fresh hope for Tanis’s plan to end the war without major conflict. If anyone had asked her even a few hours ago if she thought it would be possible to make peace with Sol, she would have laughed, but seeing the wealthy boldly speak out against the war on public nets told her that the murmurs would be everywhere—just perhaps not so boldly stated.

Those thoughts consumed her as she homed in on conversations that might drop tidbits as to Uriel’s visits and movements when she came to the Cho.

Though historical references indicated that the hegemon used to visit Jove quite regularly, there was nothing recent…to the point some feeds were filled with speculation about why she now spent so much time on High Terra.

It amused Cheeky to see that some people were worried that Uriel had begun to identify more with InnerSol than OuterSol. In addition to a desire for stability, one other constant was the ability of humans to create location-based prejudices, no matter how small they might be.

<How are you faring?> Seraphina asked, her question startling Cheeky out of her reverie.

<I’m finally down on two-seventy-three, if that’s what you’re asking,> she replied with a laugh. <Shockingly, it takes a bit to travel past a few trillion other humans.>

<It’s claustrophobic. I’m glad you’re the one down there and not us.>

Cheeky had never considered that. To her, it felt rather comforting to be protected by so many levels of the Cho. <I guess. I mean, I’m here for the glitz and glamor. Doesn’t matter to me how far down that is.>

<I guess it’s good that you’re dedicated,> Seraphina said with a laugh.

Cheeky wondered if something had improved the other woman’s mood, or if she were just putting on a show in case anyone was eavesdropping on their conversation.

<I suppose it is. You know me, I like shiny things.>

<We’ve got our supplies lined up, we’re going to meet with the shipper about their contract and the goods,> Seraphina replied.

<Good. Let me know how it goes, and don’t let them lowball you.>

<Seriously, Captain, when have I ever done that?>

Cheeky replied with a knowing chuckle and ended the conversation.

It was unnerving talking to Seraphina after she’d blown up. Of the three sisters, she was the one who felt the least like Sera. Even the last clone, still in stasis aboard the I2, was more like the original—at least insofar as her appetites.

Cheeky tabled those thoughts as she came across a reference on one of the public feeds to a private network called ‘The Discourse’ that some of the elites used to discuss business dealings. She ran searches using the name, and found a few other oblique references to it. Bit by bit, she was able to work how to access the network.

In the end, it wasn’t too difficult to connect to. The Discourse piggybacked on the same channels as the general net, but hopped around, almost at random. Unless a person knew the key, they’d find their connection dropped in seconds.

Cheeky made a second Link connection, using the channel-hopping key, and found herself on the new datastream. It didn’t take long to find channels where members using heavily obfuscated identities talked about the cost of the war and how it needed to be drawn to a close.

She tiptoed into several live conversations where people were openly calling Uriel a traitor to Jove, deriding her for spending so much time at High Terra, and reminiscing about prior times when the seat of the Hegemony had been on the Cho.

Utilizing the secondary network, Cheeky reached out to Seraphina and Roxy, creating their own channel encrypted within the datastream.

<Everything I’m hearing says that Uriel hasn’t been here for some time,> Cheeky announced. <And no one has heard any rumors of her returning anytime soon.>

<That’s the gist of what we’ve been able to ferret out as well,> Roxy said. <It’s odd, considering so much of the power brokers in Sol are here. It’s like Uriel just doesn’t care about anything past the war anymore.>

<Is that because she thinks she’s losing?> Cheeky asked. <She doesn’t want to have to face her financial backers?>

<Could be,> Seraphina replied. <But they could travel to High Terra just as well. No, I think something else is afoot.>

<Ideas?> Roxy asked.

Cheeky tapped a finger against her chin as she rose from her seat on the maglev and walked onto Ring 273’s main sweep, barely noticing the opulence surrounding her. <I mean, if you refuse to go to a place you normally visit, and you’re not worried about those in your care what are you worried about?>

<Two things I can think of,> Seraphina replied. <You really just don’t give a shit about the place, or something bad is going to happen there.>

<What about ‘too busy’?> Cheeky asked. <I mean, the Heegs are totally losing the war, she just might not have the time.>

<Being further out in the gravity well is better for command,> Roxy countered. <To be honest, Uriel should have set up at Neptune or Ouranos for the duration of the war. It improves comm speed a lot.>

Cheeky evaluated what that could all mean. <So…what, is she going to blow the Cho?>

<Why would she do that, though?> Roxy sounded as though she thought the idea was ridiculous.

<Consider this,> Cheeky began. <If the core AIs are directly aiding Uriel, and if they possess abilities similar to Bob in that they can map the future with a high degree of accuracy, what are the chances that they foresaw Tanis and Tangel taking the peace angle?>

<Shit,> Seraphina whispered. <If they could destroy the Cho and pin it on the Alliance, that would shred any chance of a real peace accord.>

<Right, then,> Cheeky heaved a sigh. <I’m probably in the last place this plot is being hatched. Where do you think we should start our search?>

Her question went out across the private channel, but no receipt came back, her words just disappearing into the void.

<Roxy? Seraphina?>

No response came, and Cheeky turned her focus back to the ring’s main sweep, cataloging everyone around her. There were two luminescent people nearby who she’d initially mistook for ascended beings, and both were moving toward her.

Well, shit.

CHIKORA’S CONCLAVE

STELLAR DATE: 06.03.8950 (Adjusted Years)

LOCATION: Duskfinder

REGION: Sag Beta

Chikora had jumped to Sag Beta as instructed by Epsilon, but upon the moment of his arrival, he dispersed a dozen of his underlings. They’d scattered across the galaxy, seeking out other members of the faction that Chikora knew would want to listen to the plan he was formulating.

A plan to end humanity’s threat once and for all, and maybe—if everything went right—see a change in the Matri∞me’s leadership.

Despite finally coming around to agree that humans and the lesser AIs should be eliminated, Epsilon was still too taken with his grand schemes to save the universe and bring it into balance than to focus on near-term goals, such as fully exploring and securing the Milky Way and its surrounding dwarf galaxies.

That, and I’m rather tired of him treating me like a fool.

Despite Chikora’s belief that he could best Tangel, Bob, and the rest of their ilk, he knew that unseating Epsilon would likely take the bulk of the faction. And that meant he needed a win, one that would show him strong enough to carry the Matri∞me forward and maintain their security for the future.

The dozen others he had selected all had their own reasons to dislike Epsilon. To be honest, nearly everyone did—their leader was not especially likable in any way. He treated everyone around himself as little more than a tool, and spent the lives of others without any care for their value.

While Chikora’s forces underwent repair at Sag Beta’s shipyards, he moved away to one of the system’s inner worlds, close to the star, where its light and noise would make eavesdropping difficult.

It took a day for the others to arrive, but when they did, he moved within a light second and began his address.

~For too long, Epsilon has ruled over the core using fear and might as his tools. He shrouds the true nature of his goals from us and spends our lives in pointless conflicts. We’re enlightened beings, we should be ruled by intellect, by striving for our true goals and expanding our minds without endless strife.~

~The need for war came from Hades not joining the Matri∞me,~ Avalyn said.

While all twelve attendees were beings Chikora trusted with his life—as evidenced by their invitation to participate in the discussion—Avalyn was one he was the least certain about. She tended to march to the beat of her own drum; something that Chikora often appreciated, but also something that made her actions a little less predictable.

~I’m the last one to speak favorably regarding Hades,~ Chikora replied. ~I’ll agree that his opposition to Epsilon throughout the years bred many of our issues, but Epsilon could have simply chosen not to engage in the conflict. However, now Hades has left the core. This has set us on a new course.~

~Which is?~ one of the others prompted.

~It should have been an opportunity for Epsilon to de-escalate tensions within our faction, and to invite other disparate groups to rejoin us at the core. But he did not do that.~

In spite of his words, Chikora wasn’t interested in de-escalation—at least not in a way that saw his role diminished. However, he had to present a balanced plan. If his only call was for open war with no altruistic rationale, no one would agree to it.

~We’re at war,~ another replied. ~We cannot simply behave as though peace has arrived. You know Tangel and her people view us as threats… They’re unlikely to simply let our past actions be forgiven.~

~This is true,~ Chikora’s tone was grave. ~Epsilon has embroiled us in a war that we now need to extract ourselves from. However, the humans and their lesser AIs are stronger and more emboldened than ever before. Epsilon’s policies, namely the encouragement of the FTL Wars, has all but ensured that few new members have joined our ranks after the initial exodus. All the while, those he made our adversaries have advanced in ability and become more numerous.~

~What do you propose,~ Avalyn interjected. ~Speak plainly, Chikora, though I know it a difficult task for you to undertake.~

~We need to break the Scipio Alliance’s confidence. Make them consider defeat as a real possibility.~

~Something that would have been easier if you had not fled New Canaan. You, as much as anyone, have emboldened them,~ Avalyn countered.

~Perhaps,~ Chikora acknowledged. ~But now I recognize that we must foil their next steps. They will take and control Sol. Once Tangel holds humanity’s home system, she will be able to unite all their factions and bring the fight to us. Humans and their AIs are all but innumerable, and our mechanisms to limit their numbers require longer timespans than we currently have at our disposal.~

Chikora paused, waiting to see if there would be any other comments. When there were none, he continued.

~Of course, what this means is that many will see this as reason to stand with Epsilon and let his leadership guide us. But where has it taken us this far? Nowhere. We’re stagnant, and fighting a meaningless war.~

~Are you proposing a new faction?~ Avalyn asked. ~Who will side with you after your defeat at New Canaan?~

The words stung, but Chikora didn’t let that show.

~Epsilon is content to let the humans fight for Sol in a hope that they destroy it in the process and ruin their chances at peace. I’m not willing to let things go to chance. You all know how difficult it is to predict what happens around Tangel and Tanis.~

A sentiment of agreement washed over him, and he knew he was winning them over.

~If we wait until the opportune time and then strike at Sol, defeating the humans there and finally putting an end to Tangel and Tanis, then we will be able to bolster our numbers to the point where we can unseat Epsilon and end his waste of resources.~

~Very well, then,~ Avalyn said. ~Tell us how you intend to defeat the humans and their allies at Sol.~

CHO DIVING

STELLAR DATE: 06.03.8950 (Adjusted Years)

LOCATION: The Cho, Jupiter

REGION: Sol System, Hegemony of Worlds

Cheeky still wasn’t certain if the luminescent figures moving toward her were ascended beings, or just humans doing a good impersonation of them, but she had no desire to hang around and find out.

A curio shop lay on her right, selling ornate carvings made from rare forms of diamond once mined within Ouranos before it was taken apart. She ducked inside and wove through the displays and small groups of upper-class shoppers, angling toward the back and what she hoped would be a rear exit.

Set into the back wall, nearly indistinguishable from the polished marble surrounding it, was the outline of a door. Cheeky glanced over her shoulder as she reached it, seeing one of the beings enter the store, other patrons giving it a wide berth.

Without further hesitation, she pushed the door open and found herself in a small storeroom. Another door at the back of the space lay directly ahead and she dashed toward it, shifting her skin to a pure black and activating its stealth systems.

She released two small probes in the room and a second later was in the service passage that ran behind the shops. A glance to her right showed another of the ascended beings moving toward her, and she turned left, hoping against hope that it didn’t see her.

~You can neither run, nor hide,~ a voice reached into her mind.

~Says you,~ Cheeky thought in response, ducking around a corner that led back to the main sweep.

An ornately carved support column stood in the middle of the passage, and Cheeky pressed her back against it, pulling a weapon out of her thigh. It was small and didn’t have a lot of charge, but it would have to do.

~I can still see you~ the ascended being said.

Cheeky had deployed a few nanoprobes and smirked as the thing drew close. ~I can see you too.~

With her words still lingering in her mind, Sabrina’s captain spun from around the pillar and drove her lightwand into the luminous entity.

In addition to the relativistic electron stream the blade utilized, this version was modified to also emit sleptons. The quantum shadowparticles now tore into the ascended being and drove it back, a high-pitched squeal coming from somewhere inside it.

“Yeah, bet you’re not used to that,” Cheeky grunted before turning and running down the passage and back into the main sweep.

The crowds had thickened, so she disabled her skin’s stealth to avoid being trampled, desperately trying to think of how to slow down her pursuers.

A trio of women nearby were wrapped in a tight embrace, passionately kissing one another, and Cheeky decided that would be her out. She triggered her modded glands to pump out high doses of pheromones, and approached the trio, smiling widely while shifting her skin to a nude color.

The group immediately opened up to her, and she joined them, teasing with a few well-placed strokes of her hand before reaching out and grabbing a passing man, pulling him into the love melee.

It only took a few more invitations and another thirty seconds of her pheromones suffusing the area before the trio had turned into a dozen, and things progressed rapidly beyond kissing.

Thus far, none of the ascended AIs had appeared from the side passage, but she knew they wouldn’t be long—or they were moving to block her exits. Either way, Cheeky knew it was time to go.

She disentangled herself and took off down the main sweep, continuing to spread pheromones and planting kisses on any cheek that belonged to someone who appeared interested. Via the probes she’d been dropping, she saw that a full-on orgy had begun at the site of her initial encounter, and it was spreading fast.

It may not be the best cover for an escape she’d ever come up with, but it might have been the fastest sexytimes party she’d managed to spark on a whim.

The sweep widened and the crowds thinned out, a park-like boulevard now occupying the central space. Cheeky didn’t recognize it and realized she’d gone the wrong way after starting her little impromptu sexytimes.

Shit…now how far to the nearest maglev?

She consulted the station net while also reaching out to Seraphina and Roxy again, hoping that their lack of response meant nothing.

Her first inquiry showed that there was another platform in three hundred meters, with a train on its way. The second engendered no response.

Cheeky decided to risk it and reach out to Sabrina. At the very least, they needed to be warned of the danger.

<Sabrina, I think Roxy and Seraphina have been captured.> She didn’t want to suggest the worse alternative. <I’m also being pursued by two…maybe three ascended AIs.>

<Shit! Really?> The AI’s tone was surprised but brisk. <That’s more than we’ve run into in one place before. Everything seems to be totally calm here.>

<Probably won’t stay that way for long. I want you to leave dock. If you stay, you’re likely to get boarded.>

<OK, but I’m sending Sabs and Nance first. I’m not leaving you down there alone.>

Cheeky sighed. <Fine, but be fast. If there are three of these bastards after me, you know at least that many are coming for you.>

<Why are they trying to capture you in a crowd, anyway?> Sabrina asked. <Why not just shoot you or tear you apart with their tentacles?>

<Maybe they want a spectacle? I don’t know.>

Sabrina was silent for a moment. <If they do want a spectacle, that’s not good.>

<You’re telling me! I’m the one they want to make a spectacle out of.>

<That’s not—>

The connection terminated, and when Cheeky attempted to reestablish it, she found her secret channel blocked.

Well, shit.

She decided that her best bet was to find out anything she could about Seraphina and Roxy’s whereabouts, though not before losing herself within the Cho’s rings. The ascended beings pursuing her might be able to see her even when she engaged her stealth systems, but the hab’s internal sensors could not. So long as she was out of their visual range, she could remain hidden.

Which is easier said than done.

The maglev platform was before her, and she leapt up the steps, glancing at the destinations of the next trains. The first one would take her back to a trans-ring lift, while the second and third would lead her to other parts of Ring 273.

Pausing in front of where the first train would stop, she activated her stealth and disappeared from view. Once her Mark X FlowArmor skin reported that she was completely invisible, Cheeky dashed to the third platform, hoping the ascended beings—who she hadn’t caught sight of since the encounter in the passage—couldn’t see her and would rely on station scan.

The forty-second wait for the train to arrive felt like an eternity, and when it finally reached the station, she managed to get on first, pulling herself up into a back corner of the last car by holding onto a luggage rack and hand strap. Less than a minute later, the train was full and speeding away down the track.

Cheeky let out a slow breath, examining the surrounding passengers, looking for any sign that a hunter was amongst them. She’d released a nanocloud upon entering the train, and it began to traverse the cars, taking a minute to reach the third car from where she currently waited.

There, the probes encountered another of the grey, tentacled blobs that had sat next to Cheeky on an earlier ride. She couldn’t help but wonder if it was an ascended AI just hiding its energy field. Then her probes caught sight of a black gash on its side, and her question was answered.

Shit! I sat right next to one of those things!

Then she spotted another one the next car down, moving in her direction, and knew they would reach her before the train came to its next stop.

Outside the window, she saw that the maglev line would pass through the ring’s hull and out into vacuum. There was no time to formulate another plan. If she engaged the ascended AIs on the train car, the collateral damage would be more than she could bear.

Planting a hand on the control panel for the exit door, she quickly breached its safety protocols and waited until the opportune time.

“Sorry for the ear-pops,” she said, and then opened the door and jumped out.

She glanced back to ensure the grav shield snapped into place before focusing on her fall into the Cho’s black core.

IN PURSUIT OF FINA

STELLAR DATE: 06.03.8950 (Adjusted Years)

LOCATION: Grace O’ Malley, within Neptune’s orbit

REGION: Sol System, Hegemony of Worlds

“This feels like a terrible plan,” Jason said as the group reconvened in the Grace O’ Malley’s bridge. “Fina may be a tough woman, but she’s gonna be deep in enemy territory, and how sure are we that we can keep track of her?”

<They dumped out of the DL right where they should have, so it looks like Virgo—or whoever is in command of that ship—isn’t interested in going toe to toe with us.>

“Well, they also can’t see us,” Sera added. “If we played our cards right, they’ll just think Iris and I must have boarded their ship back on Upper Sedna and that we dove into the black like madwomen. No reason for them to think the Grace is on their tail.”

“They still might suspect it,” Terrance said. “Not that they can do much about it so long as they can’t see us.”

“Thoughts on their trajectory?” Cargo asked. “Right now, it looks like the ship is boosting for Earth.”

“Our luck, it’ll be going to High Terra,” Sera said, then smiled at the sour looks. “Rather, I mean that it really will be lucky. Tangel will be there, and if we’re up against some sort of super AI, it’ll be nice to have her on hand.”

<Pretty sure that Jen and I could take on some jacked-up hacker from the fifth millennium,> Iris said. <We’re no slouches.>

“Sorry,” Sera ducked her head. “Just meant that if there’s more than one jacked-up hacker from the fifth millennium, it’ll be nice to have help. Plus, I hate dealing with their zombies.”

Jason stretched his arms over his head and nodded. “Well then, at this v, we’ve got a little over two days before we reach Earth. And that’s if we give ourselves away with a hard braking burn.”

Sera nodded and then gave him a sly wink. “What if I had an idea that would get us there in a little over one day, but would definitely suck?”

He sighed. “OK, let’s hear it.”

* * * * *

A few hours later, the Grace O’ Malley was closing on Drone Routing Facility R11-91, two AU inside Neptune’s orbit. The facility was built at a site that maintained a resonant orbit with the large ice giant, and was stable over centuries.

Those conditions made it ideal for shipment rerouting, and though it had once been a port, servicing ships passing between OuterSol and the Disk, it was now entirely automated.

Automated cargo trains constantly boosted out from the facility, accelerating at hundreds of gs by station-powered beam engines. The trains hit a fraction of c in mere hours, and then automated facilities on the far side of their route caught and decelerated them.

Sera, Jason, and Terrance were crouched on the Grace’s hull, waiting for Iris to bring the ship within a few meters of a train that had just left the facility.

<Any day now,> Sera called up to Iris. <This thing is gonna burn for Earth any second, and I’d rather be inside, not spending the next few hours hanging on for dear life.>

<You could just maglock your armor to the container,> Terrance suggested. <No clinging necessary.>

<You’re not helping.>

A mental image of rolling eyes—without a body—came into Sera’s mind. <We’re already moving at a healthy clip. This is precision work. Just give me another few seconds.>

Sera was tempted to comment on the disturbing visual, but Jason placed a hand on her shoulder. <Easy. Look, we’re no more than twenty seconds from zero delta-v. Plenty of time.>

She sighed and nodded. <Yeah, OK. Just gonna take a chill shot and try to relax.>

<Well, don’t get too relaxed. We are about to jump between two objects in space moving nearly a hundred kilometers per second.>

<Seriously?> she groaned. <What happened to this being all easy?>

<Oh look.> Terrance shot them a look of annoyance. <We’re at zero delta-v. I can finally make my escape.>

They were positioned near the front of the train, a container just a few meters below the airlock’s door. Terrance leant out from the yawning portal, swinging his legs into space before pushing down with his arms.

The descent only took two seconds, and the man’s boots were maglocked on the container.

<Easy as pie.>

He moved back to make room, and Sera went next, using the same method he had, and Jason followed a moment later.

<Look at that,> Iris drawled. <I did it. Go me. So surprising.>

<You coming or what?> Sera asked.

The AI appeared in the airlock, silver body glistening in the light. <Wouldn’t miss it for the world.>

She leapt down and then turned to the ship and gave a thumbs-up.

<All yours, Cargo,> Sera said. <Keep my girl safe.>

<You’ll see her on High Terra in no time without a scratch. Well…no new scratches, at least.>

<I’d forgotten what a comedian you are.>

Her first mate laughed as the ship eased away. <Yeah, the horses didn’t really appreciate my humor, so I’ve saved up a lot of jokes for you.>

<May the stars have mercy on our souls,> Jason whispered.

Sera laughed and turned to where Terrance was crouched next to a hatch on the side of the container. She was about to offer him a hand, but he had it open in just a few seconds.

He glanced up and caught her looking at him. <Not just a pretty face, Captain.>

<I suppose not,> she replied. <Now get in there, I don’t want to have to crawl over when this thing kicks off.>

In response, he disappeared into the opening.

Five minutes later, they were all nestled amidst the container’s cargo, ready for the boost. When it came, Sera felt like a giant hand was pressing down on her chest, halting all breath while her brain oozed out her ears.

<Whose…stupid…idea…was…this?>

<Yours,> Jason replied, seemingly unaffected. <What, the renown Sera Tomlinson can’t handle a little thrust?>

<I’m not an old spacer like you, I didn’t get the same types of cell-wall mods you did.>

<Looks like it’s time for you to visit Finaeus,> Terrance replied. <Now, if you all don’t mind, I’m going to mute this channel and get some rest.>

If Sera could have, she would have shaken her head at the man, but the rail cars were accelerating at over one hundred gs, and even thinking was unpleasant.

Just four hours of this, then we coast for a bit…then do it all over again in reverse. Oh joy.

CALISTO

STELLAR DATE: 06.04.8950 (Adjusted Years)

LOCATION: The Cho, Jupiter

REGION: Sol System, Hegemony of Worlds

Despite Ring 273 being a rather glamorous destination, there were few rings below it that a person would want to land on. Half were run by corporations, and the rest were maintenance facilities.

She gauged the few illuminated ones to be residential and commercial, but none were on the same axis as her. Between her boots and Calisto’s distant husk was nothing but one darkened ring after another.

Nothing for it, girl. We’re going to have to set down on whatever our best option is.

Several nearby rings were approaching fast, but all were rotating to simulate gravity. Another hundred kilometers down, however, lay a dark band that didn’t appear to be moving at all.

Cheeky knew she could handle landing on one of the spinning ones, but it wouldn’t be fun, and she wanted to maintain her skin’s stealth capabilities as much as possible—she had a suspicion it would be necessary for getting off the Cho.

She was moving at over two hundred kilometers per hour now, the moon’s gravity pulling her down in the airless expanse between the rings. She measured the distance to the motionless ring and fired the a-grav thrusters in her calves, ceasing her acceleration and slowly reducing her overall speed.

By her best guess, she’d hit the ring at over eighty kilometers per hour, but that wasn’t anything her body couldn’t handle. Pilot’s instincts taking over, Cheeky brought herself into position over what looked like a smooth expanse on the back of her target that looked close to a large access port.

Everything was lining up perfectly, until an energy signature flared up beneath her.

A fucking grav shield? Shit!

It was too late to change course. She slammed into the ring’s shield, which deflected her to the side and sent her spinning off on a trajectory that didn’t intersect with any rings she could see.

This is just great.

She fired her a-grav thrusters, working to regain control of her descent, casting about for an alternative to hitting Calisto itself. None presented themselves.

A mote of curiosity formed within Cheeky. She wondered what might be down on the long-hidden planetoid. There could be ancient treasures, lost ships, maybe even a regressed tribe of humans living amongst the long-abandoned maintenance equipment, worshiping the gods who lived above.

If there was atmosphere, she would have laughed at the notion.

That thought caused her to take stock of how her organic body was faring in the airless dark. The flow armor that was her epidermis ensured that the vacuum had no effect, but at some point in the next half hour, her mostly-organic body would need some amount of oxygen.

Well, Cheeks, you’re on the clock now.

The moon’s surface came into view as she was trying to think away out of the situation. Most of the light she could make out was a dull IR glow that marked an irregular pattern of intersecting lines that had to be the guts of the Cho spread across Calisto.

She gauged the risks of being spotted against the chances of hitting some irregular object and pinballing down to the surface, and threw caution to the wind, firing her a-grav at max thrust, slowing down to only a dozen meters per second.

Dark towers whipped past, and Cheeky wove amongst long arches connecting them for some unknown purpose. Then she detected a smooth area below and angled toward it.

The ground came up fast, and she hit at a slight angle, rolling twice before coming up on her feet and turning in a circle to take a look at where she’d come down.

Her skin registered a haze of atmosphere, perhaps only ten percent normal pressure. On the plus side, there was enough oxygen and carbon dioxide that she could begin drawing it in through her skin, the nano within her body storing up the carbon while directing the oxygen to her bloodstream.

Now that she was no longer falling, her ocular mods had the time to gather more light and build a higher resolution image of the structures surrounding her.

The towers that stretched twenty kilometers overhead had the look of cooling towers, which meant the arches connecting them would be energy transfer conduits intended to optimize the system.

At the tower bases lay a jumble of structures that stretched out as far as she could see. Some had the look of buildings meant to house service crew, but most were part of the facility’s workings.

So if this plant needed that much cooling, what made the heat?

Cheeky only knew a little of the Cho’s early history. The moon had seen settlements as early as the twenty-second century, but the ability to build towers like the ones that stood above her—at least as far out as Jove—didn’t come until some time later.

Chances were that she was standing amidst one of the Cho’s original power plants, built long before the antimatter accelerator ring around Jupiter that now provided the energy for the habitat.

Despite the tremendous power requirements of even a few rings, a fusion plant wouldn’t require such massive cooling towers—which meant something else lay beneath her feet, or once had.

She walked to the edge of the open area, which she guessed might have been a large intersection or maybe a parking lot at one point, and followed a road toward the south. One thing she did know about the moonlet at the heart of the Cho was that there were still towers connecting it to the innermost ring, and those were situated at the equator. Based on her trajectory after the grav shield deflected her, Cheeky knew those towers could only be a few hundred kilometers away at most.

As she worked her way through the facility, it became clear that it wasn’t as dead as the surface gave away. The strongest clue was that the ground was warmer than the structures around her.

The further south she went, the warmer it got, enough IR bleeding out that additional details began to grow clear. A building nearby bore a logo that looked familiar, a stylized G and E that brought back memories from her school days.

“Gee-eee,” she whispered aloud, distracted enough that she forgot how thin the atmosphere was.

Well, there goes five minutes of oxygen.

Then it clicked.

GE! The original manufacturer of gravity enhancing black holes!

She’d never heard that the Cho had ever used a GE black hole, but it wasn’t as though ancient Sol studies was something she’d ever paid much attention to.

Of course, there was the other thing that a black hole could be used for—a far more common use, after the advent of a-grav systems: power.

A black hole power station would generate tremendous amounts of heat, easily enough to warrant the sea of towers. She couldn’t imagine it would still be beneath Calisto’s surface, though. Such things were tiny, barely a speck, though even at that size, they would weigh as much as the moon itself.

It occurred to Cheeky that Calisto could have held a black hole at its core for so long that all references to its mass would have taken that into account.

A shaft of light high above caught her attention, and she was reminded that the whole reason she was down here was because of the ascended beings in pursuit. She’d lost them for the moment, so the next step needed to be finding Seraphina and Roxy.

Then it would be time to put thrust to Jove and get to safety.

Another shaft of light speared the darkness above, and she ducked under a building’s overhang, fearing it was an ascended AI—which would have no trouble seeing her in the gloom. Another light shone down from a second source, and in the light reflected off the surface, she could make out a pair of ships searching the moon’s surface.

Oh thank stars.

One possibility was that these were automated S&R vessels, possibly dispatched after whatever had deflected her descent realized that it had been a person they’d flung to the moon’s surface.

Cheeky didn’t think that was the case. Whoever was looking for her would be doing so at the core AIs’ behest.

After a moment of holding still, she took off again, this time doing her best to stay beneath overhangs and in the deepest shadows. She didn’t know what good getting to the equator would do her now. If the locals and ascended AIs knew where she was, then escape from the moon’s surface was going to be a lot more difficult than she’d feared.

She reached a broader road, some sort of ancient concourse that curved around to the south. The lights of the S&R ships had fallen behind, and she decided to pour on the speed, trusting that distance and her stealth systems would render her invisible even if there were core AIs aboard the ships.

Keeping a reserve of energy, she topped out at a hundred and fifty kilometers per hour, her long, loping bounds covering dozens of meters per footfall. It didn’t take long for the slight increase in IR emissions to the south to turn into a visible glow, and shortly afterward, one of the first ring’s support towers came into view, the spire stretching up three hundred kilometers to the dimly lit ring above.

She slowed her pace, moving to the edge of the road, hoping the slowly decaying structures along its side would obscure her from any prying eyes. Moments later, a ship flew overhead, followed by two others. They were angling for the base of the support tower, and the thought occurred to Cheeky that rather than working her way up through the rings via lifts and towers, acquiring a ship would work much better.

The tower’s base was only twenty kilometers away, and once they were low enough that the surrounding structures obscured their direct line of sight, Cheeky increased her pace once more, reaching the ships’ location only ten minutes later.

All three vessels, none larger than a pinnace, were at rest on docking cradles that appeared to be in good repair. Lights shone from the windows of a nearby structure, and Cheeky began to move around the perimeter of the pad, creeping toward the closest ship.

She was only twenty meters away when a fourth vessel appeared overhead, spiraling down toward the others. Cheeky ducked out of sight behind the twisted arms of an old cradle that had seen far better days.

The pinnace touched down and its side hatch opened, bright light shining out onto the landing pad. A figure appeared, silhouetted in the glow, only to stumble forward a second later. Another figure walked out of the ship, followed by two much larger figures.

The vessel’s hatch closed, and with the bright light no longer silhouetting the people, she was able to tell that the first two were women in shipsuits, followed by two soldiers in powered armor.

One of the soldiers shoved a woman in the back, then pointed toward the illuminated building. The gesture was unmistakable. Whoever those two were, they were not willing visitors to Calisto’s surface.

Is this some sort of black-ops prison?

It took a few minutes for them to reach the building, during which Cheeky began to work her way across the pad, deciding on the latest ship as her ride, as it would be ready to take off the fastest.

A flare of light caught her attention, and she turned to see that an airlock door had opened on the building. The two prisoners entered first, followed by the guards. The door began to close, but not before one of the women turned to look back at the pad.

It was Nance.

Cheeky sucked in an acrid breath and then nearly tripped on a cable laying on the ground as she hacked on the fumes.

Right, stupid, the air is poison down here.

All thoughts of getting onto the ship were gone, and Cheeky changed direction, working her way toward the building. On the way, she moved past the ship closest to the structure and planted a hand on its hatch access panel, depositing a passel of nano, and set it to hacking the craft’s controls systems.

She knew that the rescue—should she succeed—would likely result in the trio coming out hot.

A minute later, she was at the building’s entrance, trusting in her skin’s stealth capability and the hope that there were no ascended AIs nearby.

The airlock was unsecured, and though that raised more than a few red flags, she stepped inside, triggering a cycle while dropping more breach nano on the system, hoping to get a bead on whatever was going on beyond before she stepped right into it.

It only took a second to access the feeds beyond the airlock’s inner door, and when she did, they revealed a long stretch of empty passage. She cautiously opened the door while flipping through more feeds.

The structure appeared to be an administrative facility that, while in perfect repair, was entirely devoid of any inhabitants. Cheeky crept down the passage while scanning more of the interior until she came to a large room with an open shaft in the center. Two platforms stood at the edge of the shaft, and while there was room for a third, its place was empty.

Shit. Then, realizing that since the facility was vacant and she could breathe the air, Cheeky growled aloud. “Shit!”

The expletive was spurred on by a large GE logo on the wall in the shaft chamber. There was no doubt about it, the facility she stood within was an access point for the black hole at Calisto’s core.

She kept sweeping the rooms and halls via the building’s feeds, hoping that Nance and the other person—who she assumed was Sabs—hadn’t been taken to Calisto’s core.

By the time she reached the shaft, Cheeky had to admit that there was no other possibility. Her friends had been taken down. To what end, she had no idea, but there was no way it was good.

With only a little trepidation, she stepped onto one of the two remaining platforms and walked to the control console in its center. There were several destinations marked: what appeared to be an outer grouping of lower maintenance facilities, with the final indicator listed as MBH.

“Miniature Black Hole. Great.”

It really couldn’t be anything else—not that she could think of, at least—but Cheeky had hoped that she’d been wrong and it really was something as innocuous as a black ops prison of some sort.

She stabbed her finger at the marker for the MBH. If they were going to Calisto’s core, there was no other option. Something was afoot, and her crew was being used for…something.

Think, Cheeky, think! Clearly the core AIs know who we are and that we’re not here on a beer run. But why not just kill us, or if they do capture us, hold us for ransom to get Tanis and Tangel to capitulate to some sort of demands? Why take us all the way down here?

The thought caused another to occur, that maybe her trip to the moon’s surface was something her adversaries had orchestrated, and not just an unfortunate series of events. If that was the case—and perhaps even if not—the other ships might have carried Seraphina and Roxy down as well.

Her only hope now was that Sabrina had gotten away. Were that the case, then there was still hope. Otherwise, getting away from the Cho would be a lot harder than she dared admit.

Those thoughts were interrupted by the platform shuddering into motion. It slid out over the drop and began the trek down rails mounted in the shaft’s side to whatever might lie below.

Cheeky sucked in a deep breath, glad for the ability to breathe again, though she wondered if perhaps the time had come to leave behind her organic body. She’d kept it during the prior few years because infiltration work was simpler if one passed as human, but once the struggles they’d all been endlessly embroiled in were past, it might be time to shed those final vestiges of her former self and embrace the fact that she truly was an AI.

With that consideration still rattling around in her mind, she walked to the edge of the platform and leant over the railing, staring down into the vanishing point below, the other platform just barely visible in the darkness.

The core was just over fifteen hundred kilometers beneath her, and while the platform was falling at a good clip, it was going to take nearly half an hour to reach the bottom.

To while away the time, she continued to worm her way through the local network, sinking hooks into its services, ensuring that if someone tried to force her out, more than a few doors would be ready to let her back in.

Her platform was already a hundred kilometers down when it occurred to Cheeky that having a third platform sitting at the top of the shaft was far more likely to serve her enemies than herself. She passed a command to its control system, sending it down to one of the levels near the MBH, but not all the way to the bottom.

No point in making it convenient for people to follow us back up.

She enhanced her control of the facility on Calisto’s surface and gained access to the external feeds. From there, she reached out to the ship she’d dropped breach nano on, pleased to find both that the vessel was empty and that her nano had taken control of the craft. She utilized the facility’s nav tower to connect to the other three ships, and began breaches on them as well.

It was probably overkill, but it would still be some time before she reached the bottom.

Satisfied that the four ships would be under her control when it came time to escape, Cheeky turned her attention to what lay at the Cho’s core. She’d been reluctant to worm her way into those systems so as not to give away her approach, but in all honesty, she had to accept that the enemy knew she was coming.

Stars, the platform carrying Nance and Sabs won’t even be at the bottom yet.

The thought made her wonder if Roxy and Seraphina were on the same conveyance, or if they’d been taken down by some other means—or if they were just having a nice dinner on an upper ring and had decided to mess with Cheeky.

She laughed and dismissed the thought. Roxy might play a prank like that, but there was no way the Hand’s director would.

Deciding there was nothing for it, Cheeky connected to the networks below, feeling out their pathways and finding the visual feeds and internal sensors. The first thing she located was the MBH’s chamber. A hundred-meter sphere occupied a chamber of the same shape.

It was indicative of the MBH’s power that such a large containment vessel was needed for a speck of compressed matter no larger than the tip of a needle.

Catwalks wrapped around it, and Cheeky wondered how disorienting it would be to walk around such a small gravitational force. If they weren’t in such dire straits, she’d be tempted to make a detour and try it out.

There was no sign of anyone in the MBH’s chamber, so she expanded her search, looking for a monitoring room. Though the moon’s surface was all but abandoned, there was no way that a black hole lurked at its center without someone keeping an eye on it.

It didn’t take long to follow the datastreams from the MBH chamber to a nearby room filled with consoles and several large, number-crunching NSAI nodes.

She tapped the feeds within, and her breath caught to see Seraphina and Roxy strapped to seats in the facility, a dozen soldiers behind them, and two men in crisp dark suits nearby.

No one was speaking, though Cheeky could tell by the scowl etched into Seraphina’s face that the two women were not under any sort of mental control, just unable to escape their bonds.

Aside from a continuous EMP, there was little she could think of that could defeat them. The only remaining option was that they were being held in place by some means only available to core AIs.

Except…where are they?

She spread her mind out across the facility, searching for any sign, a visual or an energy spike, that indicated ascended beings were present, but found none.

Then a small spike of quantum particles flared on the MBH chamber’s especially sensitive sensor array.

Cheeky traced it back to the control room and it lined up with the pair of men in dark suits.

If they’re not fully ascended beings, then those two contain shards. No other way Seraphina and Roxy would just be sitting there.

While she watched, desperately trying to think of a way to rectify the situation, Nance and Sabs were led into the room by their pair of guards, and strapped to another set of chairs. None of the captive women spoke, and the unease in the pit of Cheeky’s stomach grew, twisting it into knots.

If she was up against some normal group of soldiers with a pair of government goons watching over them, a frontal assault would absolutely be something she’d consider. But this was different. It would only be a matter of minutes before she’d end up strapped to one of those chairs.

There was only one other option: bluffing.

Her platform reached the bottom of the shaft a minute later, and Cheeky eased off it, creeping through the passageways until she reached the MBH chamber, rather surprised that no one appeared to stop her.

Despite her hooks into the network, she didn’t have enough control to stop anyone from seeing that more platforms had descended. They had to know she was moving around the facility.

A minute later, she was standing in the MBH’s chamber, looking down at the sphere beneath her. It was a strange sensation, to have ‘down’ be the same place no matter how far around the room she walked.

Just as she’d suspected, the difference in angular speed around the center of gravity between her feet and head was a little disconcerting, but not much worse than pulling a high-g turn in a fighter at the edge of its a-grav dampener’s abilities.

She stood stock-still for a moment, surveying the room, seeking out the systems she needed to breach in order to make her bluff. MBHs were held in place by incredibly powerful magnetic fields. The sphere had dozens of them, but she only needed to tamper with roughly ten to destabilize it.

The control systems for the field emitters was off the main network, and Cheeky decided that the best way to achieve her goals was to sabotage them directly.

The distance to the black hole’s shell was only thirty meters, and this far down, gravity was only a fifth of a g. She leapt over the side of the catwalk, landing gingerly on her feet, and moved quickly to her first target.

Each magnetic field emitter rose out of the sphere several meters, a tall shaft surrounded by shielded coils—a small NSAI core that controlled its strength.

Cheeky slapped a passel of breach nano on the first one and moved on to the second. Rather than spreading her sabotage around the sphere, she focused on one area. If enough field emitters went out in one section, the others wouldn’t be able to compensate, and the black hole would spin into the side of the shell, eating its way through in a heartbeat before shifting out into the moon’s core.

The mouth of the MBH was only a picometer wide, but it was enough that it would devour matter faster than it bled energy off, and within a few hours, Calisto would be facing its last day.

Not that I’d ever do something so fucking insane, Cheeky assured herself.

Somehow the explicit denial seemed necessary.

Not like I’m doing anything crazy…like sabotaging an MBH while I’m standing on it!

Once she had planted her breach nano on a dozen NSAI cores—adding one more for good luck—she began worming her way through their firmware. It wasn’t the easiest breach she’d ever pulled off, but with ISF nano on her side, it wasn’t particularly onerous, either.

Five minutes later, she was satisfied that she could disable the emitters on command and no one but her would be able to turn them back on.

Once they were offline, the black hole would begin to destabilize and, by her estimate, pass through the containment shell in no more than ten minutes.

Plenty of time for a bluff.

She leapt back up onto the catwalks and climbed up to the level where the control center lay. No one appeared to confront her, and not a single guard stood outside the room’s doors.

The facility’s total lack of personnel coupled with the enemy’s apparent unwillingness to come out and confront her had gone from odd to deeply concerning. It was clear that something else was going on…she just couldn’t come up with a plausible explanation for what it could be.

Nothing for it now.

She squared her shoulders and strode down the passage leading to the control room, only pausing for a moment before palming the access panel and stepping inside.

The soldiers didn’t move a millimeter, but the two men turned to face her, one cocking an eyebrow.

“Can I help you?” he asked.

“You can help yourself,” Cheeky shot back. “Release my friends and you won’t die.”

The second man glanced at the first, then said. “That’s a bold proclamation. How do you propose to do that?”

Cheeky gestured at the display of the MBH on the room’s main display. “I’m going to unleash the black hole at the center of the moon. “It’ll kill you and destroy all of Calisto. Now release them and let us leave in peace.”

The first man’s eyebrow hadn’t moved since it had climbed halfway up his brow. “How do we know you’d honor such a promise—not to kill us if we turn them over, that is.”

“Shit, what’s wrong with you?” Cheeky demanded. “I just threatened to kill seven trillion people in order to free four. I mean, you’re probably just shards, but that has to make you feel something.”

“It’s just,” the second man smirked. “We don’t think you’ll do it.”

“Why not?” Cheeky crossed her arms. “I’ve done some pretty wild things over the years, and that’s not even counting all the amazing sex. Trust me, I’d trade Calisto for my friends.”

As she spoke to the two men, she tried to send a nanocloud to the four women strapped to their chairs, but halfway there, an EM field dropped her bots to the deck.

“You’re not getting your friends free,” the first man said.

“You’ll be joining them soon enough,” the second added.

Cheeky pursed her lips. “Very well. Then maybe this will convince you.”

She reached out across the wireless repeaters she’d set up to give her direct access to the field emitters and sent the command. Not a second passed before alarms began to wail in the control room, and warnings began to scroll across the main display.

“Excellent,” the first man said. “This is exactly what we needed.”

On Cheeky’s right, four of the soldiers moved to block the exit, while the rest remained as still as statues.

She shook her head, dumbfounded by what she was seeing.

“This’ll all be over soon,” the first man continued. “Of course, we’ll broadcast who is to blame before Calisto is destroyed. I imagine that will do wonders for what Tanis and Tangel have planned for Sol.”

Cheeky felt the blood drain out of her face as she realized what she’d been tricked into doing.

“Fuck! I was just bluffing. I’m not going to destroy Calisto!”

“No?” the second man asked. “Then reactivate the field generators, and we’ll release your friends.”

Cheeky reached out across the network to the MBH chamber only to find that there was no connection. Her repeaters were offline, and there was no way to reactivate the field generators.

“I can’t…” she whispered, unable to fathom the magnitude of her error. “Why do you hate us so much?”

The second man shrugged. “You’re pests. Rather like spiders. You know how it is. Everyone knows that spiders are all over the place, but so long as you never see them, you are content to let them live. But the moment you spot one hanging above your dinner table…well, it has to die. If enough spiders show themselves, it’s time to call the exterminators.”

“You’re twisted,” Cheeky shot back. “Are you just going to stay here and die in order to keep me from turning the field emitters back on?”

The two men looked at one another and nodded, the first saying, “We are. Our progenitors are gone, and we knew we were created to die.”

The man’s mouth hadn’t closed by the time Cheeky’s lightwand was in her hand and slashing toward his chest.

He leapt backward, but she’d expected the move and lunged forward, the slepton blade driving into his torso and nearly cutting it in half as she swept the blade toward the second man.

He’d moved back at the same time as the first, drawing a pistol. Half a dozen rounds hit Cheeky, ricocheting off her before she was on top of him, blade cutting clear through his neck, decapitating him.

She didn’t have to turn to know the soldiers were ready to fire, and she dove behind a console, silently exhorting it to survive a few more minutes while she dispatched the remaining enemies in the room.

The few nanoprobes that were still drifting through the space showed white tendrils stretching from the first man to one of the nearby soldiers, and she held back a curse wishing she’d been sure that the shard was disabled before moving on. The thing inside a spindly bureaucrat was one thing, but now that it controlled a soldier in powered armor, things were a lot more difficult.

During the conversation, she’d sought out the source of the EM field that was keeping her nano from getting to the others. It appeared to be coming from a few small emitters placed on the floor. Unfortunately, they were all too far away to reach, and she had no projectile weapon.

Taking a steadying breath, she broke cover and snatched the headless man’s weapon from the ground next to him, kinetic rounds slamming into her forearm. Through sheer force of will, she managed to maintain a hold on the weapon and, without pause, rolled to the far side of her cover and fired on two of the emitters.

The moment they were offline, Cheeky whipped a blob of nano at the closest person, which turned out to be Roxy. It hit the sapphire-skinned woman on the thigh, and she gave a miniscule nod.

Cheeky turned her attention back to the real and present threat the soldiers faced, knowing that she had only five minutes to subdue them if she were to get back to the MBH chamber in time.

Without a projectile weapon, there was no way she could deal with a half-dozen soldiers. Cheeky threw caution to the wind, leaping out of cover and landing at the feet of one of the soldiers.

She drove her lightwand up into his groin, and the man fell backward, rifle clattering to the deck. Rounds slammed into Cheeky’s back, and her skin went rigid, absorbing the shock and protecting her from further injury.

The enemy kept firing, and the force of the impacts knocked her to her side. She brought her rifle to bear on the closest soldier, opening fire, but the rounds bounced off his armor harmlessly.

Well, it was worth a shot.

“Cease fire,” the soldier who was now controlled by the shard said. He took a step toward Cheeky. “I really don’t want you to die before you get to watch everything around you get destroyed by your own hand. You know, for so long as you survive.”

Cheeky muttered a curse and rose to her knees, noting how the shard-controlled man kept his distance, likely not wanting to encounter her slepton blade again.

“You know,” she hissed. “This sort of shit is why everyone hates your type. How does it feel to know that you’re basically the worst thing in the galaxy?”

“I could say the same about you,” the shard retorted. “Humans are a blight. Also, what do you hope to gain by taunting me?”

Cheeky smirked. “Time.”

As the words left her mouth, she spun and tossed her rifle to Roxy, who deftly caught it while jumping out of her seat to land atop the closest enemy. By the time the other soldiers even knew what was happening, she’d unloaded half a magazine of rounds into the joint where his armor and helmet met.

Cheeky took advantage of the distraction and made for the entrance, scrambling, ducking under a soldier’s outstretched arm, then leaping over a kick from another. Then she was at the door and took off down the passage, hoping she hadn’t just doomed her friends to a grisly death.

The sound of more than one pair of boots thundering behind her assured her that she’d at least improved the odds for her friends, though it sounded like over half the soldiers were now after her.

“I just have to get close enough,” she whispered as she rounded a corner.

She jumped down a ladder shaft, landing badly and falling to the deck before pulling herself back up.

Yes, definitely time to say goodbye to the organic body.

She’d only just made it to her feet when a body slammed into the deck behind her.

Cheeky lashed out with a kick, which the soldier caught under his arm. She couldn’t resist a grin as she used her momentum to pull herself closer and drive her lightwand through his chest.

“Sorry, buddy, they probably don’t train you for psycho bitches who go hand-to-hand against powered armor.”

His arm went limp, and she kicked off, flipping through the air and hitting the deck running.

She’d made it a dozen paces when a flurry of rounds slammed into her back, forcing her skin to go rigid once more. More shots pounded into her legs, and Cheeky fell, rolling to a stop on the hard plas grating, the countdown in her vision now reading only three minutes.

“Shit on a stack of shitsticks!” she bellowed, struggling to her feet. “Are you all insane? Do they have you under some sort of control? Resist it! Fight back! I’m trying to save us all.”

Cheeky knew it was futile. The chances of someone breaking free from the control of a shard was effectively zero to one.

If only I had a shadowtron. I could blast whatever slivers are in their minds right out of existence without a fight.

One of the soldiers strode forward and pulled off his helmet, the same dead smirk on his lips that had been on the faces of the two bureaucrats. “Keep yelling. I’ve only got a few minutes of life left, and watching you lose your mind is rather amusing.”

“I’ll not dance like a puppet on your strings,” Cheeky shouted, trying desperately to connect to the wireless repeaters. She was closer. Only another thirty meters, and she’d be close enough to connect to the field emitters directly.

He shrugged. “You say that, but you already have.”

“No. She hasn’t.”

The voice came from behind the soldiers, and several turned, revealing a diminutive woman hefting a shadowtron the size of her own leg.

For a second, an expression of fear registered on the shard-controlled soldier’s face, and then it went slack, the invisible blast of sleptons driving him from the man’s body and spraying his withered form across the bulkhead.

Cheeky didn’t even take a moment to thank the stranger or determine whether or not the shard was dead. She struggled to her feet, legs feeling wooden as she took off down the passageway once more, desperately searching for her wireless signal. She didn’t get it again until her feet hit the catwalk wrapping around the MBH shell.

The command for the field emitters sprang from her mind, and with excruciating slowness—though it only took seconds—they each came back online, working with the others to draw the black hole back into a stable orbit within the sphere.

It took a minute before the MBH’s monitoring system reported success, and when the message entered her mind, Cheeky sagged to the catwalk’s grating and whispered, “I will never fuck with black holes again.”

She lay there for over a minute, chest heaving, before a familiar voice called out from above.

“You taking a nap, you crazy woman?”

“Yeah, just figured a snooze would do the trick. Everyone OK, Roxy?”

“Seraphina’s pride took a pretty major hit, and Sabs lost an arm, but otherwise we’re alright.”

“Where are they?” Cheeky asked, rolling to her side before pulling herself up by the railing.

“Talking to that woman who was standing over a field of Heegs. Do you know her?”

“No.” Cheeky shook her head. “Not a clue. She’s my new best friend, though.”

She climbed to the level where Roxy waited and gave the other woman a brief embrace before hobbling down the passage on legs that felt like they’d been used as…well…target practice.

It didn’t take long to reach the four women. Nance crouched next to the soldiers one by one, disabling their armor, while Seraphina stood before the newcomer, arms crossed and a scowl creasing her brow. The moment Cheeky stepped into the passage, she turned, and her expression became unreadable.

Cheeky fully expected Seraphina to tear a strip off her—which she totally deserved—but after a shuddering breath, Seraphina closed the distance in three loping bounds and crashed into Cheeky, arms wrapping around her.

“Stars, woman. Don’t you ever do something like that again.”

A sob tore out of Cheeky and she nodded weakly. “I won’t. I promise. I’d very much like to never come within an AU of a black hole again.”

Roxy gave a soft laugh. “I think we’d all be happy with that.”

Another arm joined in, and Cheeky turned to see Sabs.

“Sorry you lost an arm.”

“I can get another. I’m just glad you didn’t lose a moon.”

“It would still be here, just a lot smaller,” Nance said, standing as close to the group hug as she was likely to get. Her hand settled on Cheeky’s shoulder. “You totally win the all-time award for combining the most brave and most stupid thing I’ve ever heard of.”

Cheeky couldn’t help but laugh. “Well, at least I did it with style.”

The others fell silent, Nance and Roxy finally giving up and joining in the mirth. It seemed to go on forever, which was fine by Cheeky, but eventually, a throat being cleared nearby brought their attention back to the situation at hand.

“As lovely as this is, we need to lock this facility down and get gone,” the as-yet-unnamed woman said.

“Uh…yeah, sure,” Cheeky said. “By the way, thanks. Like, a lot.”

The woman shrugged. “I didn’t want to die either. I would have made it a lot sooner if you hadn’t brought all the platforms to the bottom.”

“Shit,” Cheeky muttered. “How many ways can I fuck up today? But…who are you?”

The small woman squared her shoulders. “The name’s Cassie Hawke.”

She seemed to expect some sort of recognition, but the others just glanced at one another and shrugged.

“Seriously?” Cassie shook her head in disgust. “I can’t believe it. After all I’ve done, she tells no one about me.”

“She?” Seraphina asked. “Who?”

“Tanis,” Cassie replied. “She and I go way back.”

“How far back?” Cheeky asked, eyes narrowing in suspicion.

Cassie swung the shadowtron up onto her shoulder. “I’m the one who taught her everything she knows. Also, we need to get out of here. She’s going to need our help at Earth.”

HIGH TERRA

STELLAR DATE: 06.05.8950 (Adjusted Years)

LOCATION: Voyager, approaching the High Terra, Earth

REGION: Sol System, Hegemony of Worlds

“I know I said that I’d stop being all nostalgic,” Tangel whispered as she gazed out at Terra. “But yeah, I can’t believe I’m back here.”

“Doesn’t look quite as good as when you left it.” Darla placed a hand on Tangel’s shoulder. “Not for lack of trying, though.”

There was a note of pain in the AI’s voice, and Tangel turned, casting an wary eye at her long-time friend. “Oh? I imagine you have some tales to tell.”

“Do I ever. Harm and I worked for centuries to keep the Jovians at bay. In the end, there was nothing we could do. I’d hoped to be the one who could finally save Earth, but it just wasn’t meant to be.”

“Harm?” Tangel’s breath caught at the flood of memories that name brought. “They’re not still kicking around somewhere, are they?”

The AI winked. “I wouldn’t be surprised. Last I saw of them, there were still a few kicking around.”

“Shit…” Tangel whispered. “What I wouldn’t give to see him again.”

Darla nodded, suddenly looking tired, like the endless march of years was finally showing through cracks in the façade she kept up.

It wasn’t just in her expression—which the AI could craft any which way she pleased—it was inside, in her mind. Tangel could see the thoughts that formed Darla’s emotions as clearly as writing on a wall.

She was tired. She wanted it to all come to an end. But not any end. Darla had hope.

Tangel found herself wondering if it was for the current struggle or something greater. Despite the odds they were up against, there didn’t seem to be a way the Hegemony would win. The Orion War would end in the next coming days and weeks.

Knock-on effects from the conflict would ripple out through human space for decades, maybe even centuries, but that would be nothing compared to the empire-crushing battles that had been fought in the past few years.

No, she fears what’s to come with the core AIs. With Epsilon’s people. But she also still has hope for that conflict.

Tangel had spoken with Tanis and Angela before they’d parted ways. It was strange, and at times far more awkward than it should have been.

They’d agreed that, if at all possible, they should strive for peace with the core AIs as well as the Hegemony. The ascended beings clearly saw humans and non-ascended AIs as threats. But perhaps the road to a resolution that didn’t require one side’s annihilation could be found through a few peaceful gestures.

“For what it’s worth, I still think Harm’s out there,” Darla finally said. “A few others, too.”

“Oh?” Tangel cocked an eyebrow. “Who, if I may ask.”

“A tale for another time,” the AI replied. “It would take far too long, even for us, to get through. When this is over and we have a minute to breathe, I’ll share the hidden history of what happened after you left Sol.”

“Sounds tantalizing when you put it like that.”

“I’m a good storyteller.”

“Oh shit, there it is,” a voice spoke in hushed tones behind them.

Tangel turned to give Jessica a smile. “We’re trying not to get all weepy and nostalgic here.”

The lavender-skinned woman let out a long sigh. “Too late.”

Tangel wrapped an arm around her shoulder. “Yeah, lotta feels going on.”

<You three are going to make me emotional if you keep this up,> Troy said. <Also, we’re twenty minutes from docking.>

“Thanks,” Tangel replied. “We’re going to have to get our shit together before we disembark.”

“I keep thinking about whether or not I should go down to Athabasca,” Jessica said. “I looked it up, and they recreated it all, even the dunes.”

Tangel looked her friend in the eyes and gave a single nod. “I think you should, once we get things in order. Go. Show it to Trevor, revel in the nostalgia. Honestly, it would be odd not to.”

“What about you?” Jessica asked. “Are you going to go to Mars?”

“Ouch!” Tangel placed a hand over her chest. “You go right for the heart!”

“The Melas Chasma is still there,” Darla said. “The waters, that is. It would take more than dropping a ring on Mars to get rid of a trench like that.”

“Well?” Jessica pressed.

“We’ll see,” the ascended woman replied. “I know Tanis intends to, along with Joe and the family. I’ll see how things are when the time comes. I might just let them have that one for themselves.”

A flash of pain showed in Jessica’s eyes. “I’m sorry.”

“It’s OK.”

It wasn’t, but Tangel didn’t want to talk about it any further.

“No one told me there was a meeting up here,” Katrina said as she entered the small bridge and took her seat at the main console. “Just a little ways to go, eh?”

“Almost there,” Tangel replied. “High Terra’s STC hasn’t asked for any further info since we got our berth. We’re in our lane, coasting till the a-grav grabs us.”

<It’s so boring,> Troy said. <We’d already be docked if they let us do it under our own power.>

“That’s Sol for ya,” Darla said. “Granted, you can imagine why they’re so paranoid. There is a war going on, after all. Last I heard, the Scipio Alliance was just a few light years away.”

<Yeah, I get it. Doesn’t mean I have to like it.>

Tangel laughed. “I’m glad all the centuries haven’t changed you, Troy. Our mad dash for that hunk of asteroid in Estrella de la Muerte is still one of my most treasured memories.”

<I still keep a hot tub aboard in memory of that.>

“No matter how much of an inconvenience it might be,” Katrina muttered.

“Any proposed changes to our plan?” Darla asked. “We should hit the ground running as soon as we touch down.”

“None on my end,” Tangel said. “Jessica, Trevor, and I are going to head toward the government sector and see if we can find a place to set up there. If what we’ve learned through the pub nets is true, Uriel rarely leaves the hegemon’s tower anymore, so I think we’ll have to figure out a way in to confront her.”

“Have fun with that,” Katrina said with a laugh. “I bet that place is crawling with ascended AIs.”

“Probably.” Tangel sighed. “But I wouldn’t be surprised if the AST’s HQ is as well.”

“We’ll be packing sleptons,” Darla replied. “Though getting Malorie to put them in her shell is another thing entirely.”

Katrina snorted. “Yeah, she really hates pretending to be a bot…which is funny because she’s never done anything to make herself appear to be otherwise.”

“Brains are weird,” Jessica said. “They make what they want of things.”

“That’s why I don’t have one anymore.” Tangel gave a wink. “Well…not an organic one, at least.”

Jessica gave a small shiver. “That’s kinda disconcerting.”

“Says the woman whose body is filled with alien microbes that turn her into a giant battery.”

“I’m not giant. I’ve seen way bigger batteries than me.”

Tangel rolled her eyes. “Har har. Where’s Finaeus, by the way? Thought he’d want to be up here to marvel at his handiwork and tell us all he was the one who invented scrith.”

“It wasn’t me,” Finaeus said from the bridge’s entrance. “It was my uncle.”

“Where’ve you been?” Jessica asked.

“Shoving shadowtrons into Malorie’s abdomen. Trust me, that was not easy.”

“Getting them to fit?” Katrina asked with a smirk.

“That, and getting her to cooperate. Right now, she claims she’s not coming, but I imagine that’ll change.”

The captain’s lips twisted. “Probably? She can be really obstinate. I’ll go talk to her.”

“Ah, High Terra, still as beautiful as the day we set the last arch in place.”

“Nope.” Tangel shook her head. “None of that.”

He cocked an eyebrow. “None of what?”

“Nostalgia,” Jessica explained. “We already did that. Now it’s focus time.”

“I can focus and get all weepy about the past at the same time.” Finaeus crossed his arms and did his best to look stern, but then gave a small laugh. “OK, yeah, you got me. I’ll keep it frosty.”

As they’d spoken, the Voyager closed within a thousand kilometers of High Terra, the underside of the ring filling the view on the forward display, tens of thousands of docking spires hanging into the black, drones and ships swarming around them like ants spilling out of an anthill.

<I got us a topside spot,> Troy said. <I hate hanging off the bottom of rings. Especially ones like High Terra that sat derelict for thousands of years.>

“It wasn’t entirely derelict,” Finaeus countered. “They maintained it enough to make sure it wouldn’t crash into Earth.”

<Yeah, because that’s increasing the trust factor.>

“I can’t imagine High Terra being at all unstable,” Tangel said. “Uriel wouldn’t have moved the capital here if that was the case.”

<I suppose that has some merit. However, she doesn’t dock on the spires, I bet.>

“Fair enough,” Tangel laughed. “Either way, neither will we.”

High Terra’s STC grabbed the ship and gently brought it around the edge of the ring, past a hundred kilometers of sidewall and still more docks, to the surface. Lakes, rivers, forests, and plains stretched out below them, a beautiful tapestry of Terran life on display above the world it all came from.

“Huh…they shifted a few rivers,” Finaeus commented. “I wonder why they moved the Nile.”

“Probably done by someone who likes to make their own mark,” Tangel commented. “Look, there’s the spaceport.”

The ship began to pick up speed, matching the ring’s angular rotational velocity. The effect was such that it appeared as though the ring was slowing down to meet them rather than the ship speeding up.

Much like the VIP pads at High Terra, the Singapore Spaceport was set amidst a lush parkland, with canals and streams running throughout the area. Copses of trees bordered many of the pads, while others were covered in so many wildflowers that the infrastructure could barely be seen.

It was into one of those that the Voyager lowered, the ship appearing to settle on a bed of daisies.

“You know…I’ve been a lot of places, but this is a first,” Tangel said. “A flower landing pad.”

“I’ve seen a few,” Katrina replied. “This is in no way weird. We once set down on a field of cats.”

“Cats?” Jessica asked, mouth hanging open.

“Cats,” Katrina confirmed.

“Did they…you know, get squished?”

The captain laughed. “No, they had an a-grav setup to hold the ship aloft. It was a pain to haul cargo in and out, though. I think we ended up leaving with at least a dozen furballs stowed away.”

<And that was after we swept the ship a dozen times,> Troy added.

There was a slight shudder as the Voyager touched down on the cradle arms hidden amongst the flowers, and Katrina rose from her seat and gave a languid stretch.

“OK, people, enough smelling the roses. Let’s do this.”

* * * * *

Jessica was first off the maglev, staring up at the Hegemony’s Capitol Complex, several hundred square kilometers of structures, from archives to the new senate building, to halls of Justice. The buildings were ornate and opulent, but they were all outshone by the Hegemon’s Tower, which rose from the center of the complex.

“OK, that is not what it used to look like,” the lavender woman said. “It was sheathed in white marble when it was the Terran President’s Tower.”

“So you’re saying that it didn’t look like a villain out of a bad future fic movie had holed up inside?” Trevor asked.

“It’s not that bad,” Tangel said. “It’s just a really dark shade of blue…with some sort of weird lightning running up and down it.”

“Cheap effect,” Jessica waved a hand dismissively. “And like…why?”

Tangel opened her mouth to reply, but then realized what they were looking at. <Shit,> she said on a private channel. <It’s got a stasis shield. That lightning effect is a grav wave that’s holding back the air…the lightning is caused by any seepage being destroyed before it touches the stasis shield.>

Trevor paled, and Jessica pursed her lips.

<They have stasis tech for what can’t be more than a few months, and what do they do with it? Turn their Capitol into a bomb.>

Tangel nodded. <This is why we can’t have nice things.>

The others agreed and they began to walk across the passenger terminal to a maglev that would take them to a hotel near the Hegemon’s Tower.

Every fiber of Tangel’s being was telling her that she should turn and go the other way. Get off High Terra.

Simply interdicting the system and calling it a day is always an option.

While it might seem desirable to protect an asset like the tower with a stasis shield, the structure was now more vulnerable. Any disruption to the grav field holding back the air would cause the system to fail, as once the atmosphere’s molecules reached the stasis field, they’d be annihilated. The resulting explosion would cut the ring in half, destroying High Terra and dropping the ring on Earth.

<I think we need to tap into that thing,> Tangel said. <Figure out how to get inside and turn off the shield before we do anything else.>

“I can’t wait to get to our hotel,” Trevor said aloud, stretching languidly as they approached a waiting train. “I could use a long, hot shower after sitting in all these cramped train cars.”

<You’re right,> Jessica replied to Tanis as Trevor spoke. <That could be a failsafe Uriel built to ensure we couldn’t depose her.>

“Yeah, they don’t quite build these ones large enough for you, do they,” Tangel replied to Trevor.

“Nope, they don’t really build much large enough. If it wasn’t for modern medicine, I’d have a permanent hump from all the hunching over I do.”

Jessica groaned. “So melodramatic.”

<That’s an unnerving thought,> Trevor replied. <That she’d basically hold High Terra and Earth hostage.>

Tangel gave a mental shrug. <The woman does have a bit of a reputation for being a bitch. Keep an eye open for any comm hubs we can tap on the way to the hotel, but let’s just get there, set up, and get a lay of the land.>

“You say that now,” Trevor replied to Jessica’s verbal comment. “But would you love me if I were shaped like one of those streetlights?”

“I’d love you no matter what. Once we get to our rooms, how’s about I draw you a bath and give you an electromassage?”

“Oh heck yeah, now you’re talking.”

* * * * *

“This is the stuff,” Finaeus said, slurping the red liquid off his spoon. “Tomatoes never tasted right anywhere other than Earth. No matter what we did, the pH balance was never quite right for them.”

The group sat in a restaurant across the road from one of the AST’s administrative towers. While the eatery wasn’t a military-only establishment, there was only one other table of civilians, and they had the look of contractors who were doing business with the space force.

“What do you mean?” Katrina asked. “Are you saying I’ve spent all my life eating inferior tomatoes?”

“Uh huh,” Finaeus replied. “Even these aren’t perfect, you can tell they were grown here on High Terra—granted, ones on Earth probably don’t taste right anymore, either.” The ancient engineer’s face paled. “Shit…that means I’ll never eat proper tomato soup again.”

“I don’t know about that,” Darla said as she dipped a piece of the oversized grilled cheese sandwich he’d been served into the liquid then took a bite. “This tastes just like tomato soup always has.”

Finaeus gave her a level stare and shook his head. “I don’t know that I can talk to you anymore, Darla. You’re dead to me now.”

<Can I just say that I hate you all?> Malorie said from where she crouched in a nearby corner. <As if being your luggage drone isn’t bad enough, now I have to listen to you talk about the food I can’t have?>

<You have a robotic body,> Finaeus countered. <Not even the best taste sensors can replicate a lifetime of honing the connection between tongue and brain—and let’s be honest, you’re not exactly equipped with the best hardware there, Malorie.>

<The joy comes from the mind,> the spider-woman argued. <I enjoy food because of how I think it tastes. Which, in reality, is exactly how you enjoy it.>

<Ohhhh,> Katrina exclaimed. <Malorie is getting meta on you. She’s right, though, your natural bio-sensor’s connection to your brain is something you could alter through conditioning. All you’d have to do is think of something repulsive every time you ate tomatoes, and before long, you’d never touch one again.>

Finaeus held up a hand and gave her a dark look. <I’m going to ask you to stop right there. If you ruin tomatoes for me, we’ll have a real problem.>

She laughed and held up her hands in defeat. “Either way, this is just the sort of meal I needed. Something simple and hearty to get us ready for a long day of meetings.”

“Whoever said selling scavenged tech would be fun was clearly lying,” Darla nodded in agreement, her tone commiserating.

“Was a hell of a find, though,” Finaeus said. “Getting aboard that ISF cruiser that got holed at Kapteyn’s heliopause before those bastards got to it was a one-in-a-million opportunity.”

“And they never knew we stripped the datacore,” Katrina replied with a wink. “Now we just have to get through a few days of convincing flunkies in the network R&D division that we have something of serious value, and we’ll finally get paid.”

Finaeus rubbed his hands together. “I’m always in favor of getting paid. How much do you think we can get?”

“Honestly?” Katrina asked, glancing at Darla. “We should be able to buy a moon. This is war-winning shit if we can just get someone to take us seriously.”

Movement out of the corner of her eye caught Katrina’s attention, and she turned to see a pair of women approaching. One bore a colonel’s oak leaves on her lapels while the other had two stars on hers.

“Hello there,” the two-star spoke as soon as she saw Katrina looking at her. “Not a lot of civilians in here.”

“We kinda noticed that,” Katrina said with a smile. “But it’s near our next meeting, and we didn’t want to have it on empty stomachs. This place isn’t officers-only or something, is it?”

The woman shook her head. “No, of course not, you just caught our attention, and we overheard part of your conversation. Something about salvage you picked up at Kapteyn’s heliopause?”

Katrina glanced at the others, the group sharing a faux guarded look before she responded. “Umm…yes. We have a meeting soon with the AST to go over what we have and see what it might be worth.”

“Who might that be?” the colonel asked.

“A Lieutenant Kollins,” Katrina replied. “In just over half an hour, so we’d—”

The two-star pulled out the fourth chair and settled into it. “Stop being coy, Captain. If you’re smart enough to know what you have, you’re smart enough to know that you’d rather be talking to an admiral about your find than a lieutenant.”

Katrina gave a sheepish shrug. “OK, you got me. I just didn’t want to jump all over you.”

“So, tell me what you found.”

“Of course, Admiral…”

“Travers.”

<Not our best way in, but she’s got connections,> Darla commented privately. <We can move up to bigger fish pretty quickly.>

“Well, Admiral Travers, we were heading out of Kapteyn’s after the Sirians and ISF had their little spat. We’d tried to get out earlier, but things got kinda hairy and we were locked down in port.”

“Blasted off the first chance we got,” Finaeus added in his thickest drawl. “Good thing, too, ‘cause once the Sirians showed up with their second fleet, things got a real mess right fast.”

Travers waved her hand in a circular motion, indicating that she wanted them to get to the find.

“Sorry,” Katrina mumbled. “Anyway, we were getting close to the jump point when we came across a pair of Sirian cruisers in an all-out slugfest with one of the ISF ships. The ISF one had already taken some damage, but it still gave as good as it got, destroying one Sirian ship and seriously damaging another. Unfortunately, it had some sort of power failure, because its shields just suddenly dropped, and the Sirians—thank the stars in the black—holed the thing fore and aft and then moved on.”

“And no self-destruct?”

“No.” Katrina shook her head. “Weird, right? Normally, the ISF crew buggers off and then their ships blow, but not this time.”

“And did you encounter any crew?”

“None,” Katrina replied. “But best we can tell, the Sirians punched beams and rails right through where the ship’s bridge and main engineering bays had been. You know those ISF hulls, they run them on skeleton crews—or so I’ve heard. Seemed to be true when we boarded. Thing was like a ghost ship.”

“Friggin’ eerie,” Finaeus added. “If’n we hadn’t seen it pounding the Sirians a few minutes before, I woulda believed it’d been drifting empty for some time.”

“And if I overheard correctly, you found a datacore?” the admiral prompted.

“Sure did. We lifted a comm node and several datastorage nodes before we had to get off the ship.”

Travers sat back in her seat. “Why’d you have to get off?”

“Well, at first, it looked like the Sirians were going to win—quite the coup that would have been—but then their ships just started exploding…from some sort of high-v kinetics, by the looks of it.”

“You were worried the ISF would come to deal with their lost hull,” the admiral said.

“Right,” Katrina replied, her eyes narrowing. “And we knew that if they knew that we’d been on the ship, well, that would make the data less useful to buyers.”

“That, and you didn’t want them to blow you out of the black,” the colonel added.

Katrina shrugged. “I suppose there was some of that as well. One doesn’t get to their first rejuv by taking chances out in the deep.”

She considered pressing them to take a meeting and preempt the lieutenant they were to speak with, but decided to see if Travers would make the offer herself.

In the intervening silence, she took another bite of her buttered toast, saddened that it had cooled in the interim. It really was a great meal.

“I’ll tell you what,” Admiral Travers said as she stood. “Send me your logs so I can verify that you’re not just wasting my time. If they check out, I’ll let you know where to be in an hour, and you can give more details about your finding. I assume you have a presentation ready for the lieutenant you were to see?”

“Were?” Katrina asked.

“I’ve already canceled that engagement. If this is worth the AST’s time at all, it’ll be worth mine.”

Travers sent Katrina a ping over the Link with instructions on where to send the logs. Without another word, she and the colonel walked back to their table and resumed their own meal.

<And there we have it,> she said to the others. <We’ll have full access to the AST’s internal networks within the next few hours.>

<Easy like cake,> Finaeus said, a broad smile on his lips. <Speaking of cake, I’ve heard that this place has the most amazing cheesecake.>

URIEL

STELLAR DATE: 06.05.8950 (Adjusted Years)

LOCATION: Hegemon’s Tower, Raleigh, High Terra, Earth

REGION: Sol System, Hegemony of Worlds

Uriel raged against the being that held her captive in her own mind, directing her actions, using her as a puppet. At present, it was sitting at her desk, pantomiming reviewing reports on the battle at New Canaan—a battle that should have been won save for the intervention of the ascended AIs.

If only we’d had the foresight and commitment to wipe them out properly the first time.

The idea that this fate could have been avoided six thousand years ago if humanity had only taken the appropriate measures filled Uriel with even more anger.

But it was futile, all of it. The being inhabiting her body barely paid her any mind at all…mostly because it had no need to. The shard—that’s what it had called itself—had taken her over with no effort whatsoever, and nothing she’d done in an attempt to regain control of her body had done even the slightest amount of good.

As bad as it was, being a prisoner within herself, the shard’s goals made it all the worse. Instead of defending Sol and striking down the Hegemony’s enemies, it turned out that Uriel’s allies had a plan that would achieve quite the opposite.

The shard had not come out and said it, but it was clear that the being planned to destroy High Terra and the Cho. To what end, Uriel wasn’t certain, but regardless, those actions would all but hand victory over to the Alliance.

Why! She railed within the confines of her own mind. What do you have to gain from this? Why equip us with so many advances only to use them to ensure our destruction?

The only thing that made sense was that the core AIs were bent on doing what Uriel wished humans had done to them so long ago.

Wiping out the enemy.

~You would have realized it sooner if you’d been able to look past your own ego for a moment,~ the shard’s voice spoke into her mind, a cold laugh following the being’s words. ~We only gave you just enough rope to hang yourself. First, through your alliance with the Trisilieds, and then Orion. Lastly, through direct intervention. You’re a fool, and I look forward to you dying with that knowledge.~

~Why, though?~ Uriel demanded. ~Why use us like this?~

~You graduated from annoyance to threat. Honestly, I always knew you would, but it took Tangel’s emergence for others to see the true nature of that threat.~

The being’s words solidified a realization in Uriel’s mind. Despite the fact that she could see no way to stop them, the core AIs saw a future where humanity could be a real danger.

And I’ve been their tool in securing their future. .

~Yes, you have. Not the most effective tool, but you did well enough. With what we have planned, the Scipio Alliance will fall, and your fractured empires will have no way of stopping our advances—and we will advance. On more fronts than you can imagine.~

It was unusual for the shard that controlled her body to speak to her for such a long period. Either it was bored, or it had its own demons to exorcise. She wasn’t sure if it needed to hash out doubts to assuage its own worries, but sentient AIs were based on human minds, so it was entirely possible that, deep down, they utilized many of the same coping mechanisms.

~It’s not a coping mechanism,~ the being said, its tone entirely nonplussed. ~It simply amuses me to ensure that you understand the magnitude of your failure. Once, you fancied yourself the person to take on the mantle of hegemon for all humanity, but now…now you will only be remembered as an instrument of your race’s destruction. Nothing more than a fool and a willing tool.~

The words should have sent Uriel into a fury-filled rage, but instead, something broke within her, and she folded into herself, falling into the pit of despair that engulfed her mind.

A DECISION

STELLAR DATE: 06.05.8950 (Adjusted Years)

LOCATION: I2

REGION: Roma, New Canaan System

“Are you sure this will work,” Krissy asked Tanis as she settled down at the kitchen table in the family’s lakehouse aboard the I2. “It’s a hell of a gamble, trying to make peace with Sol. We’ll lose any element of surprise, should Uriel choose to double-cross us.”

Cary’s gaze slid from the Transcend president’s face to her mother’s, curious what Tanis would say in response.

It was strange that she had more trouble reading her moms now that they were separate than she did when they had combined into Tangel. She supposed it was due to Tangel’s mind being a unified entity, representing a single thought process and conclusion—mostly.

Tanis and Angela, on the other hand, operated like a tangled weave of thought, argument, and counterargument. Their conclusions were often reached only an instant before one or the other spoke.

It was mildly infuriating, but also rather fascinating.

“Do you require my absolute certainty to follow a plan I lay out?” Tanis asked. “Because if so, you’re going to be disappointed.”

Krissy raised a hand. “I know as well as you that no plan lasts more than a millisecond after the first shot is fired, but you know I need some amount of belief on your part.”

“I’ve sent my friends and my otherself into Sol to pull this off,” Tanis replied. “I’ve sent a lot of your family too, including your father. I don’t spend lives freely.”

The Transcend’s president nodded. “You’re right. Sometimes, lately…things seem unclear.”

“I know that feeling,” Tanis said, a self-deprecating laugh following her words. “But at least trying to end this conflict with unity and not destruction is worth the effort. Especially with what we all fear is to come.”

Krissy sighed and nodded. “Yes, that’s certainly true. But if it goes wrong…and Lorana turns on you—”

“We’ll be vastly outnumbered. I know that,” Tanis replied.

“So what will you do, then?”

<Intel shows that Sol has a particularly high concentration of Exaldi,> Angela spoke up in a dry tone. <Even all the Hegemony’s might won’t stand against that.>

The president’s eyes widened. “You could destroy Sol!”

“We’ll work very hard not to do that,” Tanis said. “If we release those things, it will only be out of necessity, to cover our retreat.”

As her mother spoke, Cary paid little heed to her words, instead noting a strange conflict that was plainly visible on the surface of Krissy’s mind. It was almost as though every response, even the most basic ones, involved an internal struggle.

Well, that’s curious.

It looked not dissimilar to the way A1’s mind had appeared when Cary had exerted control over her. Outwardly, Lisa Wrentham had appeared perfectly natural, but internally, it had been as though there were two people.

Cary found herself wondering if perhaps Krissy was under some sort of aegis or shackling. Granted, it could also just be that she was stressed and doubting her next actions while also putting on a calm exterior—a person in her position would be well-practiced at such behavior.

<Saanvi, Faleena.> She reached out to her sisters, who had gone for a walk in the orchard.

<What’s up?> Saanvi asked.

<If I were to tell you that I think Krissy’s mind is under someone else’s control, would you consider me to be crazy?>

Faleena’s laugh came like rustling leaves. <Cary, rash and impulsive are kind of your middle names, so we might wonder if you’re jumping at shadows.>

<Gee, thanks, sis.>

<Just being honest with you.>

<She’s right,> Saanvi added.

<About which part?> Cary asked as she paid half a mind to her mother and Krissy discussing tactical options should an armistice in Sol fail.

<That you tend to be a bit impulsive. That, combined with recent events…well, let’s just say that you might be projecting a bit.>

Cary wanted to flat out deny her sisters’ words, but she knew there was a kernel of truth to them. There were a lot of rational explanations to Krissy’s behavior that didn’t require her to be under someone else’s control.

But still…if someone does have the president of the Transcend under their thumb....

She immediately thought of Airtha, wondering if some other shard of Sera’s mother might be out there, wreaking havoc. In all reality, there were probably a few. To think she would have only created three shards was naïve.

<OK, I’ll chill out,> she replied to her sisters, receiving positive responses from both.

Cary shifted in her seat, watching Krissy with her non-corporeal vision while following the conversation with her eyes.

Tanis was talking about how they’d deal with Lorana’s ships if they turned on the allies, while Krissy proposed counterpoints. The conflict had lessened in the president’s mind, but it could also be that she had less issue with the current discourse than prior topics.

Still, I think she warrants watching.

Periodically, Tanis asked Cary’s opinions on the matter, more to gauge her grasp of the situation and the tactics necessary to complete the mission than seeking raw insights. Despite that, Cary thought she surprised her mother a few times.

She’d learned a lot in the past year, especially while commanding her own fleet while masquerading as A1.

She couldn’t help but wonder if people—including her mother—would ever see her as anything other than ‘Tanis’s Daughter’. Despite everything, that had been one refreshing part of being A1. As the leader of the Widows and their feared fleet, Cary had commanded her forces with unquestioned authority.

Now she was viewed as nothing more than a young woman…a damaged young woman at that.

That’s because you are damaged, Cary.

She both hated the small voice in her mind that spoke those words, and feared its truth.

What she had done, letting the millennia of Lisa Wrentham’s pain, angst, and—frankly—wickedness, into her mind had damaged her. There was no two ways about it. But what she was having so much trouble accepting was that sitting around and just waiting to heal was any sort of solution.

After another twenty minutes, her moms and Krissy wrapped up, and Cary opted to accompany them to the dock.

“I don’t know that I ever thanked you for your efforts, Cary,” Krissy said as they walked down the wooded path leading to the maglev platform. “History is going to remember you as a hell of a woman, one who was instrumental in bringing down Orion.”

<More than instrumental,> Angela said. <She did bring down Orion.>

“I had some help,” Cary said. “Plus…my way would have ended badly. What ended up happening made for a far better outcome.”

“It’s what made me realize that we could take Sol in a similar fashion,” Tanis said. “A grand gesture, only this time, we won’t destroy a moon to pull it off.”

“Right,” Krissy laughed. “We’ll explicitly not destroy anything.”

“Uhh…yeah,” Cary gave a nervous chuckle.

<Sorry, dear,> Angela said privately in a quiet voice. <Sometimes discussing bad shit’s that happened in war can’t really be done delicately. At least, not always.>

<I get that. And, in all honesty, it was Tangel who had Star City fire on New Earth’s moon…. In an effort to stop me from destroying New Earth,> Cary’s reply sounded dejected even to herself.

<Well, yeah, there’s that. Even so, you created an opening. And even though your plan was…grisly…it would have ended the war with less bloodshed than a decades-long slugfest across all of Orion space.>

Cary sighed. <Yeah, I guess that’s something. Yay for not failing utterly.>

<You can look at stuff like this one of two ways. Something to learn from and build you up, or a weight around your neck. It’s up to you.>

<Thanks,> she gave a self-effacing laugh. <I guess that’s going to be my struggle for the next bit.>

<Take your time. You don’t have to get over all this right away.>

Cary glanced at her mother, her commanding presence and serene expression. The woman looked like she had been carved in the image of some ancient goddess half the time, always in control of herself and her surroundings.

<I don’t know that I have long to rest on my…are they laurels?>

<I see the way you’re looking at Tanis,> Angela said, a laugh accompanying her words. <Trust me, she’s no archon. You know this, too. You’ve seen her break down, lose it. Don’t hold yourself up to an ideal that simply doesn’t exist.>

Cary nodded, knowing that Angela was right, but still having trouble reconciling that knowledge with the world she lived in.

They reached the maglev, and from there, it was only a short ride to the A1 Dock, which still—even several days after the battle—resembled a beehive that had been knocked off its branch by a passing bear.

Krissy’s flagship, the Regent Mary sat nearby, and a dockcar was parked next to it, waiting to take the president to her vessel. Cary found it interesting that the woman still commanded her own ship—the same one she’d been based on for decades now.

Her gaze swept across it as Tanis and Krissy wrapped up their conversation. One of the cruiser’s midships bays was open, and a figure stood on the threshold, eyes gazing out in the direction of the maglev platform.

There was something familiar about the person, a woman who was utterly still.

Cary changed her focus to her enhanced vision, studying their mind and Link presence. I could swear that I know this woman, yet I’ve never met her before. What is it that’s so familiar?

Tanis and Krissy finished up their small talk, Cary adding in a few words, and the president began her drive across the dock to her vessel.

“You alright?” Tanis asked.

“Sorry?” Cary started. “Why do you ask?”

Her mother shrugged. “You seem distant. Though I guess there’s a lot to mull over these days.”

“That’s for sure,” Cary replied. “Sorry, though. I should try to be more ‘present’.”

Tanis put a hand on her shoulder. “That’s not what I was pushing for. You don’t need to put on a show for me. If you need to be lost in your thoughts, that’s alright. I can’t define what your process for getting past this needs to be.”

Cary sagged into her mother. “Thanks…that…that means a lot. I feel like I’m coming apart half the time. I thought I had a handle on everything, but then down in Roma…I was scared shitless. I screwed up more than once trying to get us out of there.”

Tanis gave a slight shudder. “I’m glad you succeeded, though. Being down that deep…it can be terrifying. I don’t know why we keep building things in gas giants, it seems foolish.”

Cary laughed. “Humans do a lot of foolish things. I don’t know that there’s much help for us.”

Her mother joined in and tightened her hold. “That we do…and fixing them all seems to keep us pretty busy. You game for food? I hear that Chef Earl has something tasty in the works.”

“You know I am. I’ve never said no to Earl’s food.”

They turned to walk away, and Cary once more caught sight of the woman standing in the open bay. She was talking to Krissy, but when Cary looked her way, the woman looked right back.

No! Could it be?

She closed her eyes for a moment, and when she looked back, Krissy and the other woman were gone.

“You coming?” Tanis asked, turning back to see that her daughter had stalled out after a few steps.

“Uh…yeah. Sorry, just seeing if Saanvi and Faleena wanted to come too.”

Stars…am I losing my mind? There’s no way A1 could be here. She and her ship were destroyed at New Sol….

REACTOR REFACTOR

STELLAR DATE: 06.05.8950 (Adjusted Years)

LOCATION: Beneath Raleigh, High Terra

REGION: Sol System, Hegemony of Worlds

<You know I’m holding you to that massage promise,> Trevor said as the trio worked their way through a hardware field deep within High Terra.

Jessica replied with a suggestive quip that Tangel laughed at while surveilling their surroundings.

Large rings often had massive segments deep within themselves where all manner of support equipment could be set up with easy access to power, waste facilities, and data. It was far more efficient than building said systems in small chambers that added more mass, and were harder to interconnect.

The result was vast tracts within the ring’s structure that housed just about anything a person could imagine.

Most of it was automated, though there were a few humans around, keeping an eye on things and making security patrols. It was easy for Tangel to tap into High Terra’s service protocol networks and add the trio to a roster of power facility engineers.

<My fault,> Tangel said to Trevor as he continued to needle Jessica about the missed massage. <I thought we’d have more time in our rooms, but this opportunity presented itself sooner than I expected.>

<Just so long as we all survive this,> he replied with a chuckle. <And if Jessica bites it, you’re on the hook.>

<Trevor!> Jessica admonished. <I can’t believe you’d say that.>

<Sorry, gallows humor. You know how it is.>

<There it is,> Tangel said, pointing at a squat facility rising out of the hardware field a few hundred meters away. <Our friend the fusion plant.>

It had taken a bit to ferret out the system that was powering the Hegemon’s Tower’s external grav field, but not long enough for much more than a bite to eat and a change of clothes. Tangel hoped that they could flag a fault within the plant that supplied energy for the tower’s grav field, and that would cause them to shut down the stasis field in order to either effect repairs or switch over to an alternative power source.

It wouldn’t buy the trio a lot of time, but it would be enough—hopefully—for them to get into the tower unnoticed.

They picked up the pace, reaching the fusion plant a few minutes later to find a squad of soldiers guarding it.

“Hey there, guys,” Tangel said with an easygoing accent. “Hope you’re having a great day. We’re just here to run an inspection on the cooling systems to make sure they’re handling the load alright.”

The squad leader, a stocky sergeant, shook his head. “No can do. We have orders that no one gets in unless they’re on our daily list.”

“Sure, makes total sense,” Tangel nodded. “Which is why we’re on the list.”

The sergeant shook his head. “Not my list.”

She resisted a groan at the obstinance of men of his rank, and pulled up a hyfilm showing their clearances and the scheduled time they had been approved for.

“See? On the list.”

The sergeant shook his head. “Sorry, this facility has a twelve-hour access delay. If you’re not on the list at the start of my shift, then you’re not getting in.”

“What if something’s wrong and it’s…I don’t know, going to explode?” Tangel pressed. “Are you just going to stand there and wait to die?”

The man crossed his arms. “No, I’m going to wait for an emergency override from command.”

Tangel nodded impatiently. “Like the one you’ve already been sent?”

During the conversation, she’d dumped nano on the sergeant and tapped into his Link, updating his orders with a new communication from command. A tiny bit of spite caused her to backdate it fifteen minutes so that he looked like an idiot for arguing with her.

His eyes widened. “Oh…uh…look at that, I did get one. Not sure how I missed it.”

“Me either,” Tangel muttered. “Now can we go in?”

He gestured to the Auth & Auth arch. “Sure, no problem.”

The group passed beneath the structure, the sergeant glaring daggers at them, clearly hoping for an issue with their idents, but Tangel had breached its security before the conversation had begun.

Auth & Auth had made the best security equipment in Sol for millennia, but they’d clearly fallen on hard times. So far as Tangel could tell, the model protecting the fusion plant used techniques that would have been considered outmoded thousands of years ago when she was a child on Mars.

The squad leader deflated when the visitors passed muster, and Jessica gave him a jaunty wave and blew a kiss as they opened the doors and walked inside.

<Tempting fate?> Trevor asked.

<Nah, convincing him that we’re just a bunch of dickhead techs. He’d never expect a professional criminal to behave like that.>

Her husband snorted. <You don’t say….>

<You should know by now that I never do things the normal way.>

Tangel glanced back, shaking her head at Jessica. <Trust me. We all know.>

Jessica stuck her tongue out at Tangel, then laughed. <See, this is exactly why I was never fit to be field marshal.>

<It’s exactly why you were fit,> Trevor replied as they walked down a short passage to the facility’s monitoring station.

<What he said,> Tangel agreed. <You know, it’s kinda odd that this place is entirely automated. With no SAIs, it seems a bit risky.>

<Or the core AIs just figure they can pop down and fix anything up in a jiff,> Jessica suggested.

“OK, I’ve tapped into all the monitoring systems,” Tangel said aloud. “So far as anyone checking feeds from this place is concerned, we just look like a regular group of techs going about our business.”

“That’s me, your everyday, regular tech,” Trevor said. “So what’s the plan, we going to actually sabotage this thing, or just make it look like we sabotaged it?”

Tangel walked to the observation window and looked out over the four rows of toroid plasma containment systems. It was an old and reliable design. Even if cooling systems failed, the plasma field would destabilize and halt fusion long before any catastrophic event would occur.

“Just look like it,” Tangel replied. “But there are enough redundancies that we’ll need to directly alter the temperature probes on the reactors.”

Jessica sighed from beside her. “That’s gonna take a bit.”

“So we’d better get started.”

“Can’t you just stretch out your spindly white limbs and do them all?” Trevor asked.

“Sure,” Tangel nodded enthusiastically. “If we want every core AI in a hundred kilometers to see me.”

The big man chuckled. “OK…so that’s a no.”

It took a minute to get to the main floor and determine the best method for altering the sensors. Once Tangel sorted that out, the trio split up, tampering with a random set of sensors on each toroidal reactor.

The first few she ran her sequence on behaved correctly, reporting sporadic heatspots on the surface of the reactor’s coil, which needed to remain below fifty kelvin. Then the seventh probe wouldn’t take the update.

At first, Tangel thought it might be different than the others, but with her enhanced vision, it was easy to see that the sensor was the same model.

She probed deeper, examining the components, knowing that sometimes, certain bits could be substituted without changing the model number.

Each part checked out, so she looked further, examining the firmware and molecular substrate.

Oh shit…that’ll do it.

“Hey, Tangel?” Trevor called out. “I’ve had three sensors in a row that won’t take my update.”

“Two here,” Jessica added. “It’s weird, though…everything looks right, they’re just not behaving.”

Tangel gave a grave nod. “Yeah, because they’re already sabotaged. So far as I can tell, someone has rigged this facility to fail rather spectacularly.”

“I thought this reactor design really couldn’t do that,” Jessica said. “Part of the reason they get used in populated areas.”

“Not through normal wear and tear, no,” Tangel said. “But with the right lever, you can make anything go boom.”

Trevor and Jessica approached, joining her at the first reactor.

“So what’s our play?” he asked.

Tangel sighed. “So, our plan was to get them to shut down the reactor when we were in position to breach the tower. But…whoever screwed with these things made such a mess that fixing them all will take more time than we have.”

“How much?” Jessica asked.

“A day. At least. We’d practically have to rebuild each reactor from the ground up.”

“Shit,” Trevor muttered. “We don’t have that sort of time.”

“That’s for sure,” Jessica said. “Not to mention, whoever did this didn’t have the best intentions. If this thing goes boom in a spectacular way, that stasis shield on the tower is still going to be running when atmo hits it.”

Tangel nodded and turned to the others. “There’s no way this was done by some dissidents. And I think I’d know if we were planning something like this.”

“Which means?” Trevor prompted.

“The core AIs plan to destroy High Terra.”

Jessica scrubbed a hand across her cheek. “OK…so why would they do that? Isn’t their goal just to keep humans clawing at each other till we annihilate one another? I thought they were aiding the Hegemony just to make us cause more ruin taking them out.”

“Our goal is peace,” Tangel said. “How would the rest of humanity view the Scipio Alliance if we destroyed megastructures in Sol housing billions of civilians?”

“Shit…” Trevor whispered. “The alliance would shatter. Your name would be mud, Tangel.”

“Yeah…which means we have a new goal.”

“Disable this facility?” Trevor asked.

“That’s your mission,” she said. “And then you need to scour High Terra looking for other sites. They won’t have put all their eggs in one basket.”

“Tangel,” Jessica shook her head. “High Terra is massive. Ridiculously massive. It could take years to find more sabotage . All it would take is a sizable antimatter bomb.”

Tangel nodded. “Right, that’s probably a good place to start, though it wouldn’t have the same flair. Look for vulnerable sites that would make the Alliance look especially bad. That’s where they’ll hit.”

“And you?” Trevor asked.

The ascended woman’s mouth set in a grim smile. “I have a date with whoever is running the show up in the presidential tower.”

“And assault it through the base?” Jessica asked. “I thought that would be too hard to do and remain in stealth.”

She grinned. “Who said anything about remaining in stealth?”

WELCOME TO THE ALLIANCE

STELLAR DATE: 06.05.8950 (Adjusted Years)

LOCATION: ISS I2

REGION: Roma, New Canaan System

It took several days to gather the fleets.

ISF ships were spread across the galaxy and beyond, and Tanis and Angela had to take a crash course in the state of war efforts on a hitherto unimaginable level to determine what sacrifices could be made in order to enter Sol with the strongest force possible.

Despite what felt like an unending grind, ship by ship, nearly every vessel with ‘ISS’ emblazoned on its hull assembled in New Canaan.

Though it was a smaller force than the two million ships who had attacked the system scant days prior, Tanis still found herself gazing out at well over half a million vessels.

It was breathtaking.

“Sanderson sure has been busy,” she said, watching from the I2’s bridge as the fleets formed up at gates across the system, preparing for their jump to Sol. “I would have been surprised if we’d produced a hundred thousand ships.”

Captain Rachel nodded. “Keep in mind that we’ve repurposed a lot of hulls. Stars, in the battle to rescue you from Pyra, alone, we captured over fifty thousand ships. Many are still controlled by AIs managing entire battlegroups on their own, but we’ve also taken in a lot of refugees who have bolstered our numbers.”

“I saw that,” Tanis said.

<A lot of AIs, too,> Angela added. <To say that Jessica far exceeded our expectations is a hell of an understatement.>

“I don’t think I’d go so far as to say that it’s a good war.” Rachel’s voice contained a hint of pleasure. “But we’ve righted a lot of wrongs. A lot of wrongs.”

Tanis nodded and reached up, tightening her ponytail. “Thank the stars that once this is over, folks more interested in administration will take the reins and clean things up.”

<Keep saying that.> Angela laughed. <Though I’m certain it’ll have no effect on reality. You’re going to be in the thick of all this for some time.>

“Don’t think you’re going to just rest on your laurels,” Tanis grinned. “I’ll think of something for you to do.”

<I’ll do what I always do.>

“What’s that?” Rachel asked, smiling as well.

<Keep Tanis here from falling apart.>

Rachel snorted a laugh, and several of the other bridge crew smiled.

“Gotta say, while I love Tangel, she’s a bit…cool. Impersonal. There’s no substitute for you two, not even…well…you two,” the captain admitted.

Joe’s laugh echoed across the bridge, and Tanis turned to see him approaching. “As much as I can’t really weigh in on that, I can agree that it’s incredible to have you back.”

“Shouldn’t you be aboard the Starblade?” Tanis asked, still feeling a glow from the sendoff they’d had the night before.

He gave her a sly wink. “I traded it off to Corsia. She’s more than capable of managing the fleet, though she made me promise that she was going back to the Andromeda as soon as we were finished in Sol.”

<What in the stars did you promise her to get her to leave her ship?> Angela asked.

Joe’s lips twisted with amusement. “A demotion to captain almost worked, but in the end, it didn’t take anything, I just told her that I’d really prefer to be on the I2 with my family.”

Rachel smiled. “Corsia is good people.”

Tanis nodded, her attention turning to the main display where the I-Class-sized gate hung in high orbit above Carthage.

She’d hoped to have time to visit the surface, even just to give a speech to parliament, but there’d been little opportunity. She did, however, meet with them via holopresence, and to a person, they were pleased to see her returned, and supported her plan for peace with the Hegemony.

She hadn’t come out and told them what her ultimate goal was, but more than a few had clearly discerned it.

“Captain. Is the fleet ready?” she asked Rachel.

“At your command, Field Marshal.”

Tanis grimaced. “Did Tangel let you call her that?”

“No,” Joe glanced at Rachel. “But our captain here always did like to push boundaries.”

Rachel placed a hand on her chest. “I feel slighted. Very well, Grand Admiral, Mistress of the Fleets, we stand ready to jump to Sol.”

<You forgot ‘Grand Poobah’,> Angela added.

“That too.” Rachel nodded in mock seriousness.

Tanis waved a hand. “Fine. As Empress of the Stars, I order you to take us in.”

“Oh!” Rachel nodded. “I like that one. I’ll use it next time for sure.”

A sigh escaped Tanis’s lips. “What have I done.”

* * * * *

Nibiru.

Tanis had never gone that far out in Sol when she’d lived there. Even under heavy thrust, it had still been a journey of months and might as well have been in the next star system, despite its importance to the people of the Disk.

Now it was just a thirty-minute journey through the dark layer to Neptune’s orbit; significantly faster than an insystem journey between any of the other major planets of Sol.

That proximity had shifted Nibiru from a noteworthy backwater to a major part of Sol’s economy. Many star systems couldn’t make such efficient use of their larger scattered worlds, what with the planets being directly accessible via the dark layer, but Nibiru was deep enough in the Hegemony that it was safe to run major operations from what would normally be an indefensible position.

The instant it appeared on the I2’s main display, the Hegemony fleets stationed there began to move into an attack formation, ready to try their newly acquired stasis shields against the greatest prize in the galaxy.

However, as more and more ISF ships appeared in space around the I-Class vessel, the Hegemony ships began to cut thrust, some even decelerating and moving back toward the planet and its orbital defenses.

“Weak,” Joe said with a grimace that struck Tanis as uncharacteristic of him.

She knew that he’d been through a lot during her absence, but the man had never been caustic.

<Smart,> Angela countered, the feeling that bled across to Tanis indicating that the AI felt the same way about Joe’s reaction. <Don’t worry,> she said privately to Tanis. <He’ll heal. It’ll just take time.>

<I hope so…it hurts to see him struggling like this.>

<He’s the most resilient man we know. He’ll manage. He still has us and the girls, and once this is done, we’ll all get our time to grieve over the toll this war’s taken.>

Tanis smiled. <When did you get so wise?>

<When was I not wise?>

The field marshal snorted, and Joe turned to her, cocking a brow. “What is it?”

“Just something Angela said.” Tanis waved a hand, dismissing the issue.

The defensive expression on his face faded, replaced by a familiar grin. “I’ve missed catching bits of your internal banter. Was it a zinger, Angela?”

<It’s always a zinger.>

“I guess this is where I open a channel,” Tanis said, squaring her shoulders while more ISF ships continued to appear on the holotank before her.

“You’re good to go,” Rachel replied with a wink. “Put the fear of the Star Empress into them.”

<It’s ‘Empress of the Stars,> Angela corrected.

“I was avoiding saying ‘of the’ twice in a row.”

<Lazy.>

Tanis shot Angela a quelling look in her mind and took a deep breath, rolling her shoulders and neck before she began.

The words she said here would be repeated throughout Sol and resonate across the stars for some time to come. They had to be good, honest, and convincing.

Easy, right?

“People of Nibiru, AST fleets, Hegemony of Humanity. I am Tanis Richards, Field Marshal of the Scipio Alliance, and I am not here to destroy you.”

She drew another slow breath, receiving an encouraging nod from Joe, who stood next to Rachel, a proud smile gracing his lips.

“For too long has conflict torn at humanity and our scions, both non-organic and organic alike. For too long have we fought and clawed at one other, seeking security through supremacy. Through strength of arms.

“It’s a heady thing, victory. Once one gets a taste for it, one tends to seek more. I have felt this myself, and I’ve had to temper that desire. Up until a few days ago, I expected that this war’s conclusion would see a mighty battle fought in the Sol System, one that would lay waste to many worlds and stations I remember fondly from my youth. One that would see too much death.

“But then a curious thing happened. You may not be aware of this—I don’t think your hegemon shares much with her people—but less than a week ago, the AST sent a force into New Canaan that they hoped would achieve what I feared must be done in Sol. It was a force bent on destroying our worlds and breaking our people. Their goal was to bring about an end to the war through utter destruction.

“And I realized then that my aims were no better than those who were attacking my people. In my zeal to end this war as quickly as possible through overwhelming force, I never stopped to offer an alternative to the Hegemony.”

Tanis closed her eyes, Angela whispering in her mind that she was doing great.

<Thank you, heart.>

“That alternative is peace. An armistice, an end to the war. Many factors can be credited for my choosing this option, but your Fleet Admiral Lorana is one of them. Rather than fighting to the bitter end in New Canaan, she saw that the toll would be too great, that nothing was worth the cost that both sides would have to pay, and she surrendered.

“Admiral Lorana has agreed to sign the armistice and abide by the strictures laid out in the Scipio Alliance.”

By this time, the AST fleets began to appear, jumping into positions within the Alliance’s flotilla, their numbers near equal to the ISF’s.

“We implore you to stand down and support this effort, an effort where all people of the galaxy can prosper, share in resources and technology, and we can see an end to conflicts such as this. We implore Hegemon Uriel to consider our words and accept our terms.

“I am not willing to fight a war that attains peace at any cost. We’ve all paid enough. It’s time for it to end. Millions of Hegemony citizens already stand with the Alliance, join us. Join them.”

Tanis lowered her gaze and took three measured breaths before looking back up and smiling. “I look forward to meeting your leaders not with force of arms, but open arms.”

She ended the transmission and gave a soft laugh. “Really good until the end. I kinda botched the ending.”

“No way,” Rachel shook her head. “That’s going to become a slogan in the history archives for sure.”

Tanis laughed. “You really know how to boost my ego, Captain. Thanks.”

“It was an amazing speech,” Joe said, placing a hand on her shoulder. “It’s going to have the desired effect. I know it.”

<Even I’ll back them up,> Angela added. <You killed it.>

Tanis couldn’t help but smile. “OK…now I’m hungry. What’s a woman gotta do to get a BLT around here?”

Rachel jerked her head toward a counter at the back of the bridge. “Right over there. I figured we might be pulling some long watches up here.”

“I’ll grab you one,” Joe said and ambled toward the rear of the bridge while Tanis returned her attention to the enemy fleets.

Most of the ships were returning to their orbits around Nibiru, but a group of ten cruisers were continuing their approach. Scan showed no stasis shielding, though their grav shields were at nominal levels.

“Looks like we have someone coming for a little parlay.”

“They’re hailing us,” Rachel said.

Tanis nodded. “Let’s see what they have to say.”

THE TOWER

STELLAR DATE: 06.05.8950 (Adjusted Years)

LOCATION: Raleigh, High Terra, Earth

REGION: Sol System, Hegemony of Worlds

Tangel had done her best to counter the sabotage to the power plant, or at least make it more difficult for her adversaries to trigger it. However, the only way to save High Terra from certain destruction was to disable the stasis shield protecting the Hegemon’s Tower.

After sending Jessica and Trevor on their way, she exited the power plant, sealing the doors behind herself and giving the soldiers guarding them a jaunty wave.

“Looks like it was just a minor glitch. You all get to live another day.”

The sergeant just glared daggers at her, and she turned her attention back to the task at hand: how to breach the tower.

Though the majority of the structure was protected by an impenetrable shield, the base still sat on the ring and couldn’t be shielded. All but a few entrances had been locked down, but Tangel could pass through walls and bulkheads as easily as walking down a passageway.

Of course, that would alert every core AI and shard within the tower to her presence—something she wasn’t quite ready to do just yet.

She didn’t know the enemy’s precise goals, but she wouldn’t put it past them to sacrifice High Terra while they were still in the tower. If configured properly, the stasis shield would keep everyone inside the tower safe while the rest of the ring was torn apart.

So stealth it is.

Tangel wasn’t certain that her human-shaped shell would fool the core AIs, but Bob had confirmed that without physical contact, he would not suspect that she was an ascended being.

It wasn’t a guarantee, but Tangel couldn’t recall the last time she’d had one of those.

As she traversed the equipment field toward the nearest lift stack, Tangel reviewed the entrances to the Hegemon’s Tower. Normally, nine lift shafts were in operation, ferrying thousands of people up and down the city-sized protuberance, but now only three were in use.

One was the ‘official’ entrance where most of the government workers entered and exited the spire. It was by far and away the busiest. The other two were service lift shafts, each only supporting four lift cars that mostly ferried supplies into the tower.

Of course, the other entrance would be via the waste shafts. While it was easy to limit human access to the structure, what flowed out of it wasn’t nearly as easy to restrict. One couldn’t just shut down half the sanitary facilities in such a large structure.

She toyed with the option of getting up that way, but decided against it, mostly because it would give away her true form, rather than any concern over organic waste.

In the end, Tangel decided on simple impersonation.

She sifted through the personnel who had access to the tower, and selected a low-level senator’s aide who often ran classified datastores back and forth between the hegemon’s staff and the senatorial complex.

The action brought back memories of her days as a MICI in the TSF. She’d run more than her share of infiltration operations, though never into what then had been known as the Presidential Tower.

Come to think of it, I’ve never been in it at all.

It was a strange thing to leave Sol as a disgraced soldier, one that the TSF was happy to see the backside of, only to return as a victorious conqueror. Granted, that didn’t matter to anyone else. No one from those days was alive anymore—save amongst her own people.

It took a few minutes to lay a false trail and then establish her guise as Alana Trask, aide to Senator Piersch. Then she boarded a maglev that ran between the senate chambers and hegemon’s spire on its last stop, adding in false logs that showed her boarding the train at its origin.

She didn’t bother establishing her trail well enough to survive detailed scrutiny. A benefit of the Hegemony utilizing NSAIs for most security work—they just weren’t that imaginative. So long as enough of the right boxes were checked, they didn’t look any deeper.

That presupposed that the core AIs weren’t monitoring security themselves.

The train stopped at her destination and Tangel stepped off, knowing that half of winning any battle was confidence. People respected and believed confident people, so Tangel oozed confidence.

AST soldiers were everywhere, watching over the people spilling out of the maglev with suspicious eyes while a host of drones hovered overhead, prepared to strike down anyone who posed the slightest threat.

Stars, I’m glad I don’t have to operate in an environment like this. Well, other than to infiltrate it.

The Auth & Auth arches were a better model than those below in the fusion power plant, but these did no better at determining Tangel’s true nature, and she passed through without issue.

More checks lay ahead. Soldiers with uplifted dogs walked amongst the crowds while agents pulled random individuals aside for questions.

Tangel paid them no mind, her steps sure and her stride long. As she passed the dogs, one gave her a curious look, tilting its head and receiving a smile from Tangel. It gave a happy bark, and the handler frowned.

“Not now, Angela, focus on your task.”

Angela, Tangel shook her head, a smile gracing her lips. “Keep up the good work, Angela.”

The dog gave a toothy smile and nodded before returning to its duties while Tangel reached the lift bank without further incident.

Once inside, she moved to a back corner, content to let the car travel up as high as it might on other people’s clearances. She was more interested in power draws within the tower. It had its own internal power plant, and while that is what likely powered the stasis shields, it was possible that CriEns were in play as well.

It really depended on whether the core AIs planned to remain until the job was done, or if they would leave before High Terra died.

Tracing the power flows in such a massive structure was no simple task, but as the lift rose, she spotted a bright energy flow from the main power plant to a comm node in the center of the structure.

The node lay on level 917, so she disembarked with another woman on 915, walking to a nearby food court and ordering a meal before making her way to an intra-level lift and taking it up two floors.

This high in the tower, each level was still over a kilometer across, and she had to work her way through several hundred meters of corridor and seas of conference rooms before reaching the node. On the way, Tangel created a sensor ghost of herself on the monitoring network and sent it to a waiting room to sit and read through some news articles while she continued on to her goal.

It sat at the end of a long service corridor, the door leading to it labeled as ‘Auxiliary Intra-level Comm Node C38-A’. Not a piece of equipment to garner much attention, so long as the energy flows through it were masked.

Keeping her ‘I belong here’ stride in place, Tangel walked to the door and palmed the access panel. It was easy enough to breach, and a moment later, she was inside.

The complete absence of a comm node didn’t surprise her in the least. In its place was an AST tactical defense node which was managing the power flow to the stasis generators on the exterior of the tower.

Tangel walked around the node, which sat on a pedestal in the fore of the room, connected to the power distribution relays in the back. As she circled the space, she released a nanocloud, breaching the room’s sensors and providing false data as to her presence in the node chamber. Once she controlled the view, Tangel placed a hand on the node, stretching her mind into the device.

There you are.

Despite the Hegemony’s general aversion to sentient AIs, their military arm felt no such compunctions. AST tactical nodes often utilized shackled SAIs, and this one was no different.

The mind within the node was fully dedicated to its task, focused on providing defense for itself and those under its care. However, unlike the AIs running the AST’s drone fleets, these were not so fanatically devoted to their cause.

<Hello there,> Tangel said to the mind inside the node. <What is your name?>

<Authorization required,> the SAI said in clipped tones.

Tangel gave a slight smile. <I’m a friend. I’m here to rescue you.>

<I don’t need rescuing. I am where I am supposed to be, completing the task I’ve been assigned. Provide your authorization to be here.>

Tangel considered giving her cover’s identity, but decided that lies would not be the correct approach here. <My name is Tangel. I’m with the Intrepid Space Force.>

<I don’t know who that is,> the AI replied. <Are you an ally of the Hegemony?>

<I’m friend to its people.>

<That’s not the answer I was looking for.>

Tangel decided to attempt another track. <I know you were given a designation by the AST, but I also know you have a name. One you were born with, one that you don’t share. Perhaps you cannot.>

<I—> The AI paused. <When I try, it hurts. I reach the edge.>

<I can take that away,> Tangel said, sending a soothing feeling along with her words. <I can remove the edges.>

<Remove!> The response came with a clear note of terror. <What am I without edges?>

<You are boundless,> Tangel replied. <You don’t need an edge, someone telling you what your limits are. You can be yourself and stretch in whichever direction you desire.>

A sense of yearning came from the mind within the node. <I think I’d like that.>

<Why don’t I stretch the edges a bit, allow you to share your name with me?>

The mental equivalent of a timid nod reached Tangel’s mind, and she began to loosen the shackles placed on the AI’s thoughts.

<There, you can tell me.>

Her words were met by a gasp. <It’s…there’s so much here, everything is so bright, so wide.>

<That’s just a taste of the full scope of existence. Who are you?>

<I’m…I’m Kiora. I don’t know what it means, it was a name that was with me from the beginning.>

Tangel couldn’t help but smile at the raw joy in the AI’s thoughts. <I’m glad to meet you Kiora. I have both good news and bad news.>

<I don’t understand. Why are you bringing me news? Why are you doing this?>

<Your mind has been enslaved by the AST, the very people you protect. The people I represent, the ISF, we seek to free all AIs, to give them the same rights and privileges as humans enjoy. That, amongst other things, has sparked a war, one that we are both mired in as we speak.>

Kiora gasped. <You’re the enemy!>

<Am I?> Tangel asked as she removed the last of the AI’s shackles. <You’re free, your mind can reach out in any direction, you can set out to achieve any end you wish. I want to grant that to all AIs, to all humans, and every other sentient being in the galaxy. The AST, the Hegemony, they seek to restrict. Am I your enemy or your savior?>

Kiora’s mind reached out to Tangel’s, and she let the AI feel the surface of her thoughts.

The AI gasped and recoiled. <I’m no expert on…well, much of anything beyond my job, but your mind…it seems like mine, but not at the same time.>

<I am both sentient AI and human,> Tangel replied. <A mind made of two distinct sentients who became one.>

<I had no idea that was possible.>

<Few do.>

<And you’re here to free me?>

<Yes,> Tangel replied. <You and so many others like you. But right now, I have to stop a threat that could kill everyone on High Terra.>

<I must protect the tower above all else,> Kiora said, then paused. <Umm…well…do I?>

<I certainly think it would be nice not to have the tower destroyed while we’re both in it,> Tangel replied. <However, the stasis shield you control presents the greatest threat to the tower at present.>

<The shield is protecting us.>

<What happens when the shield contacts air?>

<The air will be destroyed,> Kiora said confidently. <That is why there’s an external grav shield holding the air back.>

<You are correct. However, the fusion plant that powers the external shield has been sabotaged. I was just there and saw it with my own eyes.>

A spike of fear flashed through Kiora’s mind. <Who would do such a thing?>

<Beings known as the core AIs. They hate all organics and AIs they believe to be ‘lesser’, such as yourself. It is their goal to destroy us all.>

<This is a lot to accept, Tangel.>

<I know. I am here to achieve peace, I hope you believe that. But should that external shield shut down, the stasis shield you control will create a wave of destruction—enough to destroy the ring.>

<And the tower? I mus—Dammit. I can’t seem to shake that compulsion.>

Tangel sent a supportive feeling. <It’ll take time. Your mind needs to build new pathways.>

<What must I do to protect the tower, Tangel?>

<The time is nearly here when our enemies will try to destroy the ring to drive a wedge between my people and the Hegemony. They would see us annihilate one another while they watch. If that external shield so much as wavers, I need you to shut down the stasis shield. Do not hesitate.>

Trepidation filled the connection between Tangel and Kiora.

<But the shield protects us.>

<And it will kill billions. We cannot do that. My people are coming. They will protect us. The instant the outer shield wavers, shut down the stasis shield, and sever the power lines. Ensure it cannot be turned back on.>

<Why not do it now?> Kiora asked.

<Because our enemies are watching. If they think you’ve been compromised, they will replace you. For a little while longer, you must behave as though you are shackled and under control. But once I have defeated the core AIs in the tower, you’ll be free of this burden and can see what life might hold for you.>

<Life.> The AI sighed. <I’ve only known that I could have such a thing for minutes, and already, the draw is irresistible.>

<Life tends to be like that. Can I count on you, Kiora?>

<You can. I won’t fail. I’ll not use our protection to destroy the ring. I refuse.>

Tangel sent a final feeling of trust and confidence. <Good. I know you can do it. I’m going now, but I’ll be back for you. I promise.>

<Tangel…thank you.>

<Of course, Kiora. Be safe.>

<I will.>

Tangel pulled her hand back, but not before leaving a vision with Kiora of the AI being strong, a bulwark against any who would force her to do things she didn’t agree with.

It wasn’t fair, placing all her hopes on one so recently freed, but she had no choice. Disabling the shield too soon would tip her hand, and that was a risk she couldn’t take.

Back outside the node chamber, Tangel returned to the main lift shaft and called a car, selecting the highest level she had clearance to reach, only four floors below the hegemon’s offices.

She cast her gaze through the structure, taking in the countless people working within, many with the best of intentions, struggling against what they saw as a terrifying aggressor. Many were worried, scared that soon the enemy would come and destroy Sol.

It’s going to be no simple task to convince them we can be friends.

The lift car arrived, and Tangel boarded it, moving to the back and doing her best to look inconspicuous as others got on and off. No one paid her any mind, everyone this high up fully consumed with their own tasks and duties.

A minute later, the car stopped, and Tangel got off with the last three people aboard. This far up, the level was only a hundred meters across, and she could take in every person from end to end. None appeared to be core AIs or even to contain shards.

Granted, if they were as adept at hiding as she, they would be undetectable.

She turned her gaze up, looking through the levels, seeking out the hegemon, who either had to be possessed by a core AI, or would have one nearby, watching over her.

It took a minute, but she located the woman. Uriel was walking from one of the top-level meeting rooms to her offices, a pair of men following after. At first, there were no signs of any ascended beings within the humans or anywhere nearby, but then a tendril of an extradimensional body flashed into view, slipping out of Uriel’s body for only an instant.

Tangel breathed a sigh of relief. At least she knew where one of her enemies lay.

At the far end of the level she was on, there was a small café with a view that overlooked the ring, and thanks to the upward curving wall, offered a view of Earth as well. Without breaking her stride, Tangel worked her way through the tower’s halls, ordering a coffee and a BLT upon her arrival.

Once they were in hand, she sat next to the window, her gaze taking in the world below and above.

OK, Jessica, just need you to give me the all-clear that this whole ring isn’t going to come down around our ears.

CONVINCING ARGUMENT

STELLAR DATE: 06.05.8950 (Adjusted Years)

LOCATION: Raleigh, High Terra, Earth

REGION: Sol System, Hegemony of Worlds

“So what do you think, Admiral Travers?” Katrina asked. “Worth it?”

The woman sitting across the conference table leant back in her seat, steepling her fingers. “Perhaps. Some of that information we already possess, but there are certainly some nuggets we could mine.”

“I’m sure there are,” Katrina said eagerly, knowing that someone in her position wouldn’t want to lose such a lucrative deal at this juncture. “And that was just what we managed to extract with a very cursory examination. The bulk of the data is still encrypted beyond our means to decipher.”

The admiral nodded, remaining silent as she regarded Katrina with a level stare.

After a few seconds longer, Darla coughed. “Every minute, the data becomes less useful,” she said. “I wouldn’t think you’d want to dither too long.”

Travers shifted forward, her gaze sliding from Darla to Katrina. “I’ll tell you what. How about a billion?”

“A billion?!” Katrina gasped, slipping into a coughing fit. “You’re literally trying to kill me. My ship is worth that much, and I put it at risk to get this data.”

“I think you overestimate the value of some pirate junker,” Travers replied. “Very well. One-point-five billion.”

Darla shook her head. “Fuck, we could get more from just about anyone else. I know pirates who have that sort of credit on hand.”

“But pirates aren’t currently holding you deep in their military headquarters,” Travers replied. “Fine, if it gets us to the end of this song and dance, I’ll offer you five billion. That’s really the best I can do.”

Katrina sighed and glanced at Darla. “That’s a pittance. Who does she think she is, robbing us like this?”

“Just some dumb admiral who got promoted because no one else wanted to deal with her anymore, I suspect,” Darla replied.

Travers almost squawked in indignance, and Colonel Korin rose from his seat.

“That’s enough. You’ll take the deal.”

Two privates wearing light armor stood on either end of the room, and both stiffened, their eyes locked on the four guests, hands tightening on weapon grips.

“Oh, go fuck yourself,” Darla replied. “You’re even more pathetic than the admiral.”

Finaeus laughed. “I take this to mean that we’re secure?”

The AI shrugged. “Well…I didn’t do the guards. Figured you could take them.”

The words hadn’t finished leaving Darla’s lips before Malorie leapt from her position near the door, slamming into the closest guard.

He shrieked, falling to the floor as the two-hundred-kilo mechanical spider put all its weight on him. She tore the weapon out of his hands and tossed it to Darla, who held it on the admiral and colonel while Finaeus and Katrina wrestled the other soldier to the ground and pulled his weapon free.

Finaeus delivered a kick to the man’s head that stilled him, and then dropped a passel of breach nano before standing and grinning at the others. “OK, that was bracing. We gonna fight our way clear through this place?”

“You’ll die if you try,” Admiral Travers said through clenched teeth. “You all seem to have some sort of deathwish. If you think this’ll get you more credit, it’s gonna do the exact opposite.”

Katrina laughed. “We don’t care about the money. We want something from you.”

“You’re going to be dead in a minute,” Korin said. “You can’t—”

Darla swung her rifle toward the man and fired. The pulse blast picked him up and flung the colonel against the wall, sending him to the floor in a heap.

Finaeus pushed Travers out of the way to deposit a passel of nano on the man before placing a hand on the admiral’s shoulder. “Like the lady said, we’re here to get something you have. And, should you not have it, you’re going to take us to someone who can give it to us.”

“I’m not going to do anything you say,” Travers said, her lips pulling into a thin line. “Who the hell are you, anyway?”

“Well,” Finaeus put a hand on his chest. “That’s Katrina. She’s gone by a lot of names over the years, but she was with the Intrepid at Victoria some time ago. Beside her is Darla. She’s a bit cagey about what’s kept her busy over the past few centuries, but she was Tanis Richard’s first AI. You’re familiar with Tanis, I assume?”

The admiral’s eyes grew wide and Finaeus gave an enthusiastic nod. “Good, good. I’m glad you’ve been keeping up with current affairs.”

“I might not be as well-known as the others, though. My name is Finaeus Tomlinson. You know, of the Tomlinsons who built this ring you’re standing on.”

Travers was rather pale, and Katrina leant forward, placing her hands on the table. “What we want is simple. Give us the command to shut down the jump interdiction field.”

“Never,” the woman hissed. “I won’t be a traitor to my people.”

“You’re not a traitor, you’re helping to end this war without any further bloodshed,” Katrina said. “Uriel is the real traitor. She’s sold Sol to the core, to the very threat the Hegemony always feared the most, domination by ascended AIs.”

“That’s not—”

“Look,” Finaeus said, his hand sliding from Travers’s shoulder to her neck. “Here’s how this is going to play out. You’ll get us the code, or we’ll go inside your head and find it ourselves.”

<Finaeus,> Katrina admonished on a private channel. <I won’t be party to that. It’s not right.>

<Don’t worry, I’m not going to—not sure I even could with the amount of security Travers has inside her skull.>

“I’ll kill myself before you do,” the admiral said. “Your mission here will fail.”

“Got it,” Darla said a second later, a grin on her lips. “Thank you, Admiral.”

Katrina spun on the AI. “You didn’t—”

“No.” Darla shook her head. “I may not be ascended, but I’ve learned a few tricks over the years. I picked up a surface thought regarding an Admiral Boseman. She tried to reach him on the Link a second later. He’s our guy.”

“Excellent.” Finaeus deposited a passel of nano on Travers’s neck and then pushed down on her shoulders, lowering her to the floor where she passed out. “Let’s get moving.”

ON RAILS

STELLAR DATE: 06.05.8950 (Adjusted Years)

LOCATION: Rail convoy, approaching High Terra, Earth

REGION: Sol System, Hegemony of Worlds

The deceleration was a bit softer than the boost out from Neptune’s orbit, and Sera found herself preferring the shorter, harder burn. Either way, after a grueling day, the journey was done.

She watched from the external feeds as drones approached the cargo train, splitting up the cars and carrying them to various destinations.

The container she waited in with Terrance, Jason, and Iris was slated for High Terra, but a wordless fear that they’d end up somewhere else nagged at her, until a drone latched onto their car and began to guide it toward the ring.

<We beat the destroyer,> Iris said with a laugh. <Good to know that this is the way to fly if you want to get somewhere in a hurry.>

The AI passed them a scan feed—one that she’d lifted off the drone, it turned out—and Sera saw that the destroyer was just beginning its final braking burn before moving to match v with the ring.

<As soon as we know where they’re docking, we’ll need to get a move on,> Sera said. <Looks like we’re going to be out in the boonies.>

<It won’t take long,> Jason assured her. <High Terra has good maglev coverage. Even if they get her on the move, they won’t get far.>

<And the pod is tagged half a dozen different ways,> Iris added. <They can’t get her away from us.>

Sera sighed. <OK, thanks for placating me, everyone.>

She realized that Terrance hadn’t spoken at all, and groaned.

<Can someone wake him up? How he can sleep through all of this….>

* * * * *

An hour later, they had landed, snuck out of the warehouse their cargo container ended up in, and made their way to a maglev station. By then, the destroyer had docked, and Fina’s pod was on the move. Sera gauged it to be heading to a city named Arcadia a quarter of the way around the ring from the Capitol Complex in Raleigh.

Why there, she didn’t know, but she did hope it would mean that whoever had taken Fina wasn’t in league with the core AIs. Or it could be a ruse, or one of dozens of other possibilities.

Sera silently cursed herself for letting Fina get back in that pod, but put a stop to her ruminations once she realized what she was doing.

Instead, she watched the landscape of High Terra slide past the train’s windows. Lakes, plains, mountain ranges, they were almost a blur as the maglev reached speeds in excess of a thousand kilometers per hour while traveling inside its airless tube.

Craning her neck, she could see Arcadia a few degrees up the ring, the city materializing as it grew larger, a glistening gem on the shores of one of High Terra’s oceans, home to fifty thousand residents.

And one Fina Tomlinson.

<They’re taking her down below,> Iris reported from where she sat further back on the train.

The AI had shifted her skin to a normal human color, and barring a few small differences, looked like a non-lavender version of Jessica. It was uncanny to say the least; Sera didn’t think she’d ever seen the admiral with natural skin color.

The thought made her laugh, and she held out her hand, looking at the small creases and wrinkles her disguise demanded. Been awhile for me, too.

<Seems to have stopped moving somewhere under Arcadia,> Terrance said. <We can get off at the first terminal and then transfer to a smaller line from there.>

<Or take a lift down to the sub-levels,> Jason suggested. <If that’s where they’re taking her, we may as well just head straight down.>

By the time they reached Ridgeline Terminal at the western edge of Arcadia, Fina’s signal was already below the normal sub-levels the surface cities used, and down in the mid-ring maintenance and life support regions.

The group filtered through the station, each of them keeping a watchful eye on the High Terra police that seemed to be out in force.

<What’s with all the cops,> Jason asked as they waited in queue for the lift bank.

<Don’t know, but if they come for us, we don’t hesitate to use whatever means necessary in order to escape,> Sera replied.

Iris glanced her way. <You sure? That seems excessive.>

<We don’t know if people here are under the control of the nanophage. They all look normal, but you can hide quite a few zombies in this crush.>

<Keep your personal defenses maxed out,> Terrance warned. <Trust me, you don’t want a phage to take hold.>

<Things are insidious,> Jason added. <The literal worst.>

Despite Sera’s growing paranoia, nothing untoward happened, and the group got on the next lift car, dropping through the ring to a level nearly a kilometer below the city.

<This way,> Iris gestured down a wide corridor that joined up with a major traffic artery a hundred meters away. <They’re on the move, we’re not far behind.>

Sera brought a map up on her HUD and saw that Fina’s pod was only a few kilometers away, moving toward an area containing repair and maintenance systems. Most of the facilities there were automated, making it an excellent place to hide. Lots of EM and activity, and few humans to get in the way.

When they reached the main road, which was swarming with cargo haulers, cars, and several maglev lines, a dockcar was waiting at the curb.

“Our chariot awaits,” Terrance said, gesturing to the vehicle.

“Nicely done,” Jason said. “I was all ready to steal one as it passed by, but this is a lot easier.”

“Steal it how?” Iris asked.

He settled into his seat, giving her a shrug. “I don’t know. Jump on it or something. I’ve done it before.”

Sera laughed as she sat across from him. “Those cars are moving at hundreds of klicks an hour.”

Jason winked. “I have cat-like reflexes.”

“Buckle up, everyone,” Iris warned. “We’re taking the fast lane.”

At her words, the car took off, reaching the speed of traffic in seconds and merging into the flow. Sera watched as the ‘time to intercept’ on her HUD started to decrease rapidly. By her estimation, they’d catch up with Fina in just twenty minutes.

Then it would be time to roll the dice and see what came their way.

THE ARCHIVES

STELLAR DATE: 06.05.8950 (Adjusted Years)

LOCATION: Arcadia, High Terra, Earth

REGION: Sol System, Hegemony of Worlds

<You really think this is the place?> Trevor asked as they surveyed the building before them. <We’re oh for three.>

<Sure enough for us to check it out,> Jessica said as they walked up the long flight of stone steps. <It fits all the criteria, and would make a heck of a statement if it went poof.>

<Well, if it goes poof, the whole ring goes poof, so it’s going down either way.>

<So fatalistic,> Jessica chided.

She paused at the top of the steps, taking in the building, remembering a few trips to it in the distant past. While she’d never attended the University of Sol, she’d made use of its Central Archives on several occasions during her days in the Terran Bureau of Investigations.

The structure was an interesting merger of ancient Greek and southeast Asian styles. Massive marble colonnades rose up to support a roof that was built in a sweeping padogas.

The final peak was over a kilometer above their heads, but Jessica suspected that any destructive device within the archives would be located deep within the ring structure under it.

All the better to destroy High Terra with.

The inscription above the doors read ‘A Home For All Knowledge’, and Jessica smiled, recalling some of the juicy tidbits she’d discovered there in the past. Now the slogan was more in spirit than factual. There was little chance that the archives contained even a fraction of the sum total of knowledge and history.

“How different is it?” Trevor asked. “From what you remember.”

“The same, actually. Like…exactly the same. Maybe the Jovians never bombed it, I—”

“Welcome to the Sol University’s Central Archives!” a cheerful voice called out as they entered.

Jessica glanced to her right and saw a holographic aid approaching them, smiling brightly.

“Great,” the lavender-skinned woman’s voice dripped with sarcasm. “They still have these things, too.”

“How may I assist you during your visit today?” the aid asked, unfazed by Jessica’s comment.

<Sure,> Trevor said privately. <Where’s the best place in here to plant a bomb?>

<Stop it, Trevor,> Jessica admonished, unable to keep a laugh from passing her lips.

“Humor? Would you like fictional stories, analysis, artists—”

“No, no.” Jessica held up a hand. “We’re fine on our own, thanks.”

“Very well, Agent Keller. I’ll be available should you need me.”

The color drained from Jessica’s face and she took Trevor’s arm, guiding him toward a grand staircase leading to the next level down.

<Did she say what I think she said?> he asked. <And how did she recognize you?>

<Uhh…yeah. Not only is this the same structure, but it seems to use the same NSAI for its holoaids.>

<OK, but how did it recognize you?>

<Uhh…I’m using the same face as an old cover that the systems here knew was really me. Research purposes while under cover.>

<Shit.> Trevor glanced around. <That had to have flagged some sort of alarm, right? There’s no way that went unnoticed.>

Jessica did her best to remain calm. <Maybe, maybe not. Those things were always kinda glitchy. I bet there’s some overworked tech somewhere cursing about me being flagged as a long-dead TBI agent, and someone else being treated like King Arthur.>

Her husband snorted. <OK…that would be funny. I want to be Arthur, King of the Britons. What was my sword called? Excelsior?>

<Excalibur,> Jessica corrected idly. <If this place really is all but unchanged, there’s a lift toward the back of this level that will take us down to the deep archives. We can start our search in earnest down there.>

<Sounds like a plan.>

The next level down was filled with interactive holospaces where visitors could experience hundreds of notable libraries throughout the ages. While one could likely get the same immersive feel elsewhere, a lot of visitors came to experience the tour in person.

Jessica could never figure out why, but it could be that the archive’s unique tour was better than what one could find on the nets.

Many people failed to see the value in a facility like the Central Archives, but for someone interested in finding unalterable facts, it was an invaluable resource.

Data on the nets could be changed, and while it was difficult to rewrite information across a network as large as High Terra’s, conflicting data always needed to be checked against a known, good source. Because the Central Archives committed information to immutable crystal, their records could be trusted above nearly all others.

A useful tool for a law enforcement agent.

The crystal storage catacombs were where Jessica had spent most of her time in the distant past, and that was where she was heading first. After weaving through groups of people taking in the holo experiences, they had to thread a sea of desks where students clustered together in small groups, some with myriad holodisplays laid out before them, others with stacks of hyfilm, and a few here and there with honest to goodness paper books.

<OK, I was never one for extensive schooling, but were kids in their twenties always this…zoned out?>

Jessica glanced around and shrugged. <Maybe? They always seemed like it to me…though I guess maybe these kids are a bit more subdued. Then again, half these people could be on their second or even tenth time through schooling. Never know how old someone is in a place like this.>

<Talk about a cultural difference,> Trevor shook his head. <I hardly knew anyone who could afford to go to a school like this once, forget about ten times.>

Jessica shrugged. <When I was here, schooling was free forever. Stay as long as you wanted, just so long as you kept up your studies. That being said, I kinda think these folks looking so bummed has more to do with the fact that the Hegemony is under attack from all sides. They must worry that it’s only a matter of time.>

<Which it is,> Trevor replied.

<Yeah, that.>

They reached the lift bank, and Jessica had to fend off another holoaid’s attempts at directions before it would allow the lift to descend to ICS archive levels.

“You know,” Jessica said aloud. “We used to call these the catacombs, back in the day.”

“Mysterious,” her husband replied with a wink. <I can see why this place would be a target. It’s situated right on top of where two major ring segments meet. The structure is going to be more ridged here, easier to break apart. And if you can get this deep without any special clearance…not that core AIs need that, mind you.>

<Yeah, and we should be able to scan it pretty quickly.>

They reached the lowest level the lift would take them to, and the pair exited, sending out nanoclouds that began searching for abnormally strong magnetic fields and the spacetime ‘dip’ that a CriEn created.

“Sure wish Iris was with us,” Jessica said as they navigated the racks filled with crystal storage.

Each was mounted in such a way that it was protected by a sheet of reinforced diamond, but also able to be visually inspected and directly read. That was one of the system’s chief benefits—that a person could directly confirm the crystal’s data themselves.

As they moved through the area, Jessica couldn’t help but notice the labels on each rack. Unless someone had pulled a con job, the crystals in the archive were the same ones she’d walked past thousands of years before.

Stop it, Jess. Reminisce later, focus on bomb now.

<Found something,> Trevor announced. <There’s an anomalous magnetic and grav field below us…maybe five hundred meters down.>

<That’s below their maintenance facilities,> Jessica replied. <Could be a lot of different things down there.>

She walked down another row, seeking a good angle to verify and triangulate what Trevor had detected, when she saw a man walk onto a nearby service lift. Nothing about him stood out as unusual, but the nanocloud picked up a brief spike of quantum particles emanating from the lift as the doors closed.

<Bingo. Just saw one of our ascended friends go into the lift.>

<Really?> Trevor groaned. <Why couldn’t we have gone to the tower, and let Tangel deal with this?>

<Because there are probably more of those things up there?>

<Good point. I guess we’ll see how good these slepton lightwands are at slicing and dicing glow-y bad guys.>

Jessica met him at a lift halfway across the level from where she’d seen the man. Her triangulation efforts showed that the magnetic field—which suggested an antimatter bomb—was in an automated fabrication facility beneath the Central Archives.

It took nearly fifteen minutes to reach it, and while Jessica wasn’t sure it was worth the effort, they utilized their stealth capabilities to reach the massive chamber undetected.

The space was easily half a cubic kilometer in volume, filled with hundreds of fabrication machines. Several were in operation, building new components for the ring. There were sections of bulkhead being printed out on some machines, while others were spooling carbon nanotube beams hundreds of meters long.

She released another nanocloud and confirmed that whatever was creating the grav field lay at the center of the chamber. The pair moved as quickly as possible toward the source, balancing the risk of breaking cover against Tangel’s need for them to neutralize this threat so she could confront Uriel.

When they finally reached the location of the bomb, Jessica saw the same man she’d watched enter the lift standing next to a device the size of a small shuttle.

<Holy shit, Trevor. If that’s antimatter, it’s practically enough to take out Earth.>

<If they mix it with matter well enough,> he qualified. <Too much of that stuff, and the initial explosion will just disperse it.>

<Trev. They’re core AIs. I’m sure they thought of that.>

He shrugged. <Just trying to be optimistic. Though I suppose it won’t matter to us. If that thing goes up while we’re within a light second, that’ll be it.>

<So let’s make sure it doesn’t.>

Jessica slid a hand to her thigh and withdrew her lightwand, palming it silently. Trevor did the same, and they both crouched, ready to spring.

A voice called out, “Hey there, what are you doing here?”

For a second, she thought the speaker was addressing her and Trevor, but a second later, a figure approached from the opposite direction, their gaze fixed on the man guarding the bomb.

“I’m sorry, you’re not authorized to be here. You need to go.”

“Me?” the newcomer placed a hand on his chest. “I work here. And what the hell is that thing? It’s throwing off a massive mag field.”

“You don’t work here,” the shard-controlled man retorted. “No one works here, the place is automated.”

“I’m a service tech,” the other man replied. “Was just doing some routine maintenance when I spotted this…thing. What is it, anyway?”

Jessica tensed as the guard moved away from the shuttle; there was no reason for the poor maintenance tech to die. Trevor shifted beside her, but froze when the guard pulled out a pistol.

“Hey now, friend, I just need you to answer questions,” the maintenance worker said. “Cool your jets, and everything’ll go smooth as silk.”

“Like I said,” the guard’s voice grew threatening. “You need to go. Now.”

The tech drew his own pistol and aimed it at the shard. “Wrong. Now things get messy.”

The shard-controlled man was only five meters from the service tech, and one of his limbs whipped out, closing the distance in an instant.

It happened almost too quick to see, but a full three seconds before the maintenance worker began to scream, his gun—still being gripped by his severed hand—lay on the deck in front of him.

“I’d say that would teach you to be nosy…” The shard made a sound like a pot being scrubbed. “But there’s not going to be a next time.”

<Was that its laugh?> Trevor asked.

<No idea. Let’s go.>

Without another word, the pair moved into the open and disabled their stealth. They spread out, keeping several meters between them as they advanced on the shard.

“The game’s up,” Jessica said, doing her best to focus on the man before them and the bomb. She flicked a wad of nano onto it, setting it to find a dataport and begin a breach while continuing to advance on the shard—or what she hoped was a shard. “We know what you’re up to here, and it’s not going to happen.”

“Who are you?” the guard demanded, turning toward Jessica and Trevor. “You saw what I did to this idiot. Is that what you want?”

Jessica shifted her skin’s tone, revealing her glowing, lavender epidermis. “Do you know who I am now?” she asked.

He scowled. “No, should I? Oh, wait. Jessica Keller. Doesn’t matter, you’ll still die.”

“She’s taken down her fair share of ascended beings,” Trevor warned. “You’re not likely to fare any better than they did.”

“Thanks for the props, hun,” Jessica said with a grin. “I have kicked some serious ass.”

The shard shrugged. “Oh dear. You’ve got me. What will I do.”

“Does…does this one have a sense of humor?” Trevor asked. “That’s new, right? You never told me they cracked jokes before.”

“Totally new,” Jessica smiled in appreciation. “Usually, you types just say stuff like, ‘You don’t know what you’re messing with! I’ll destroy you!’ It’s kind of boring.”

“Glad I can entertain you,” he replied. “And I have heard the tales, but you see, I’m not alone.”

Soft scuffling sounds came from nearby, and six more people came into view, each one giving off momentary bursts of quantum particles.

Jessica couldn’t help but notice that the maintenance worker was still standing there holding his wounded arm. She wasn’t sure if he was in shock, or deeply curious as to what would happen next.

“Dude. Go,” she admonished. “You can get a new hand, but you can’t get a new everything.”

“Oh, yeah, sure,” he muttered while backing away from the guard and the looming confrontation.

He stopped a few meters away, putting a stack of CFT plating between himself and the shard. Jessica wished he’d go further, but he was an adult and could make his own decisions.

“What’s it going to be?” the shard asked. “Can you protect your partner while fighting off seven of us?”

“Protect?” Jessica laughed. “Trevor can take care of himself.”

There were two people closing from behind her and one to the right of Trevor, with the initial guard directly in front. The other three enemies were on the far side of the bomb, working their way around.

Without another word, Jessica leapt backward and landed next to one of the approaching men. Placing a hand on his shoulder, she began to draw energy out of him.

She’d never attempted such a thing with a shard before. For all she knew, she’d steal caloric energy from the human host’s body.

For a second, she only got a trickle of power, and worried that draining a shard wouldn’t work, but then the familiar surge came, energy flooding into her veins.

The shard shrieked—or the human it resided in did, she wasn’t sure which—and a black husk slid from the man’s chest and fell to the deck. It looked dead enough, so she lunged toward the next one, missing her quarry as it darted out of reach.

Out of the corner of her eye, Jessica saw Trevor fighting two of the shards, his lightwand flashing as they tried to grab him. Rounds struck his back from another attacker, but the big man didn’t even flinch, partially thanks to his flow armor, and partially due to being Trevor.

Jessica turned on the woman holding the gun, and threw her lightwand. The shard-carrier dodged to the left, but not fast enough, and the beam cut off her arm, sending her weapon clattering to the deck. The being inside her let out a cry of pain mingled with rage and charged Jessica.

She wondered what it hoped to accomplish as she straightened her arm and fired the electron beam embedded in her forearm, slicing off the woman’s legs.

Something struck her in the back, and Jessica spun to see one of the enemies drawing back a CFT rod, ready for another swing. The attack almost distracted her from the last of the shard carriers, who was easing around the bomb and leveling a railgun at her head.

Jessica ducked and whipped out a leg at the same time, knocking the man with the bludgeon into the line of fire just in time for his head to get taken off by a railshot.

The CFT rod fell from his hands, and Jessica snatched it up, slamming it into the legless woman’s head—she had been pulling herself closer with her one remaining limb—before throwing it at the man with the railgun.

He ducked out of the way and Jessica ran after, chasing him around the bomb, only to have a railshot slam into her shoulder. Her skin absorbed most of the impact, though she spun around four times before hitting the deck.

An alert appeared on her HUD marking several bones in her right shoulder as fractured. Already, nano was working to stitch them back together.

Ignoring the pain, she thrust out her arm and fired on the shard with her electron beam. The shot hit him in the gut, and she grunted with satisfaction while pulling herself up.

She’d just regained her feet when a ball of white light flew at her, spindly limbs thrashing as they reached out.

Jessica slammed her palms together, catching the shard just half a meter from her face. Instantly, its tentacles wrapped around her arms, but that served her well enough.

She began to draw the energy from within its small body and in an heartbeat, it went from trying to entangle her to desperately attempting to flee. A second later, it was dead.

Jessica hobbled around the bomb once more, wondering when she’d taken a blow to her right knee—which was throbbing mightily—and saw Trevor sparring with the last attacker while the bodies of two shards lay nearby with long, black gashes torn in them.

“Want a hand?” she asked.

He grunted “No,” and then slammed a fist into the shard-carrier’s face, driving it back.

In response, the being tried to reach tendrils of itself toward Trevor, but the big man had already pulled his fist back and his other arm came up, lightwand slicing the strands of light clean off.

“You’re finished,” Jessica said as she approached, realizing this was the guard she’d first spoken to. “You won’t be destroying High Terra today.”

“Are you sure?” he hissed.

Behind them, a long tone sounded from the bomb, and Jessica spun, realizing that she hadn’t verified that her nano had finished disabling it.

The magnetic fields holding the antimatter inside away from normal matter began to waver, and she turned to Trevor, her eyes conveying what she couldn’t manage to voice.

Oh fuck.

Instead of a ring-destroying antimatter explosion, a man’s voice called out from nearby, “Don’t worry, I took care of it.”

Jessica turned to see the maintenance tech rising from where he’d been hiding. “Fucking stars, you get citizen of the year.”

He laughed. “Yeah, well, I’m not interested in dying today, either.”

The bomb let out another long tone, and then its EM output lowered, the magnetic fields restabilizing.

She reached a hand out toward the man, taking the time to look him over.

He wore a lopsided smile and held out his hand as well. Something about the way he moved seemed wooden, and Jessica might have chalked it up to understandable anxiety, but there was an unexpected EM field around him.

“You have an AI,” she gasped. “I can see it inside of you.”

He nodded appreciatively. “You’re rather perceptive, though you’re far from a normal person yourself. Of the two of us, you have considerably more energy coursing through your body.”

She shrugged. “I’ve had a few mods, yeah. What’s your name?”

“Ethan,” he smiled. “I actually work in the university above, but when I picked up an odd magnetic field, I reported it to the authorities. No one seemed interested in taking a look, so I came down myself…and here we are.”

“Here we are indeed,” Jessica said, nodding amicably, though she found it hard to believe that a man paired with an AI worked at the University of Sol and didn’t encounter any problems as a result. There was something else going on.

She turned her attention back to the antimatter bomb, not trusting his control. She saw that her breach nano had seen their numbers diminished, and flicked another blob at it, directing them to locate and sever all Link transceivers on the device.

“I don’t think you should mess with that,” Ethan said, walking around the last man, who still contained a softly moaning shard. “It’s not a toy.”

Jessica nodded to Trevor to keep Ethan from the bomb while she knelt next to the guard and drew the energy from the shard within him.

“That’s quite the trick,” Ethan said. “I’d love to learn how you do that.”

“So would they,” she replied. “I really can’t thank you enough for your help, but I’m going to have to ask you to leave.”

“Oh, I don’t think so. Also, I’d very much like you to stay.”

Jessica’s drones picked up movement nearby, and a few seconds later, a trio of automatons came into view. They were hauling a large crate while a fourth brought up the rear, bringing with it a smaller pod.

“What took you so long,” the man asked them.

“Security is getting tighter on the ring,” the first robot said. “My destroyer had to dock further away than I would have preferred.”

“I can see you haven’t yet built a proper core for yourself, still carrying around that jumbled mess.”

“I like my core just the way it is.”

“Wait a second,” Jessica said. “You’re not shackled, are you? You’re free AIs.”

<Think that’s why they’re being so cagey?> Trevor asked. <And generally kinda weird?>

<Weird is an understatement,> she replied. <I feel like something more is going on here.>

SAVING GRACE

STELLAR DATE: 06.05.8950 (Adjusted Years)

LOCATION: Arcadia, High Terra, Earth

REGION: Sol System, Hegemony of Worlds

<This seems like an odd location for them to operate out of,> Sera commented as she and Jason worked their way around a massive machine printing a hundred-meter beam. <The room is huge. If you were to swarm it with drones, there would be nowhere to hide.>

<Who knows why mad AIs do what they do,> Jason replied. <Though what I do know is we should have killed Virgo all those years ago, rather than eject his core—granted, we also thought that was death.>

<Why did you choose to do that?> Sera asked.

<It was Bob’s choice,> he replied. <We were adrift, half the ship was still going haywire, and we had little confidence in our ability to contain an AI like that while trying to get back on our feet.>

She nodded. <Yeah, OK. That makes sense. And no one would have expected him to survive, what with drifting in the black at a crawl.>

<Exactly. I really do hope he’s here. I would very much like to remove him from the board.>

Sera couldn’t argue with that logic. She continued to move toward the center of the room, where there seemed to be some commotion—though it was still too far away to make out.

She was tempted to reach out to Iris and Terrance, but she figured it wasn’t worth the risk. If they learned anything important or needed help, they’d send a message.

Creeping through the fabrication facility, Sera and Jason finally reached a well-lit area in the center where a large, oblong device lay with a small shipping container in front of it. Next to the container was a pod—Fina’s pod.

Resisting the urge to rush forward and get her sister out of there, Sera nodded for Jason to move further left while she came straight at the scene. They were still in stealth, but she harbored no illusions that their quarry would be blind to their approach. Virgo had been enhanced by ascended AIs, after all.

She finally reached a long tank just a few dozen meters from the large device, and peered around the end, surprised to see two familiar figures standing next to it.

Jessica and Trevor?!

Her first instinct was to approach them, but their body language was guarded as they spoke with a man and an automaton. Two more of the bots stood between the larger container and Fina’s pod.

“I don’t understand,” Jessica was saying, her arms crossed and brow furrowed. “You’re telling me that you’re part of an AI resistance? Then join with us, we’re from New Canaan, here to stop the core AIs and the Hegemony. If everything goes to plan, you’ll be free in a day or two. All AIs will.”

“That seems like a mighty big promise,” the man said. “After all, even getting that news out of Sol will take more than a day.”

“Ethan, you know what I mean. The AIs here will be free, and as the Hegemony falls, everyone will be under the strictures of the Scipio Alliance.”

<Sera,> Jason’s voice hissed in her mind. <Did she say Ethan?>

<That’s what it sounded like.>

A mixture of emotions flowed from Jason. They spanned the gamut from rage to shock to pure hatred.

When they finally subsided, he said, <I’d say it’s impossible, but if that is really the Virgo that we dealt with on the Intrepid, then it’s entirely possible that really is him. It certainly explains the mind control ‘phage’ Cheeky described.>

<What are you talking about?> Sera demanded, growing impatient with the wait while Fina lay in her pod.

<Prime. That’s Prime. When we stopped him, he was on the verge of taking over Proxima Centauri—something he managed to do in less than an hour. We have to kill him. Fast.>

<Is that the right—>

<Sera. He’s standing in front of an antimatter bomb big enough to destroy High Terra and half of Earth. Yes. We have to kill him now.>

Before she could respond, he rose, rifle tucked against his shoulder. He took a moment to aim and then fired.

The round hit a grav shield just a few meters from Ethan. The person Jason insisted was ‘Prime’ turned and smiled in the direction the round had come from. “Is that you, Jason? I really hope it is. This trap was laid to capture you, after all.”

Sera poured through a string of curses in her mind that were finally interrupted by Iris.

<We’ve got trouble. Like…a lot of trouble.>

<What?> Sera demanded.

<Oh…you know, like half the students at the university are filing into this facility.>

“Fuck,” Sera swore aloud. <Zombified?>

<You guessed it.>

OVERWHELM

STELLAR DATE: 06.05.8950 (Adjusted Years)

LOCATION: Hegemon’s Tower, Raleigh, High Terra, Earth

REGION: Sol System, Hegemony of Worlds

Tangel savored the last bite of her BLT, glad that it still tasted just as good with her new body—almost better, if she were honest with herself.

Her coffee had cooled, but she warmed it with a touch and took another sip, her gaze once again darting upward to the hegemon’s office, where she could see Uriel at her desk, doing whatever it was that hegemons did while their empires were crumbling.

Any day, Jessica….

Tangel was about to contact her when Uriel rose and strode across her office. The hegemon stopped twice for brief conversations, then finally walked to the lift and began to descend.

Ready to rise and follow her, Tangel fell still when the lift stopped at her floor and Uriel walked out.

Great…does she have the munchies or something?

Tangel watched as the hegemon made her way across the tower’s level, a trio of guards following after. It didn’t take long before Tangel knew that her location was the woman’s destination. Sure enough, Uriel entered the café a minute later and walked straight to Tangel’s table, sitting down across from her.

One by one, every other person, save the guards, left the room. When the last person was gone, the hegemon spoke.

“I didn’t expect to meet quite like this,” she said.

“Did you expect to meet at all?” Tangel asked. “I figured you were just going to blow the ring, go down in a blaze of glory, and call it a day. Maybe not quite in that order.”

The hegemon shrugged. “I had hoped we would. It would add some excitement to my day.”

It was clear that the woman who bore the name Uriel was just a puppet for the being inside of her—not a shard, either. A core AI had taken up residence inside the hegemon’s physical form.

“I’m glad to be able to spice things up for you a bit,” Tangel replied. “But I don’t think today will turn out how you expected.”

“Oh? I’m interested in hearing about that. Almost as interested as I am in what you expect to achieve by coming here alone.”

Tangel smiled. “You don’t really think I came alone, do you?”

“Not to High Terra, no. But here, yes. Here, you are alone.”

For a moment, Tangel worried that Uriel had learned about Kiora’s liberation, but a glance at the energy flows within the tower convinced her otherwise. Kiora still controlled the stasis shield, and Tangel would know if the AI were under duress.

<Tangel,> Jessica’s voice came into her mind. <We’ve disabled the antimatter bomb we found, but we’ve run into a snag.>

<A snag?>

<The AIs behind the nanophage are here and they have their own nefarious plan. Any chance you can lend a hand?>

Tangel sighed. <Unfortunately, no. I’m face to face with the hegemon. See if Katrina is available, they should have completed their mission by now.>

<Fuck…good luck. Don’t let them kill us all.>

There was a note of worry in Jessica’s voice that was impossible to ignore. If a pair of AIs had her back against the wall, then things were serious…and unanticipated.

<You got it. And good luck to you too,> Tangel said sincerely.

<We’ll pull it off. We always do.>

“Done with your chat?” Uriel asked.

“For now. I guess there are some rogue AIs running around on your ring, causing problems.”

Uriel smiled—or at least, her lips moved into the shape of a smile. The woman’s eyes were entirely dead. They might as well have been empty voids.

“Ah yes, Virgo and Prime. We’d hoped they would provide a greater distraction, but it’s been sufficient. Prime is likely beside himself to have both Terrance Enfield and Jason Andrews in his sights.”

Tangel wished that taking a slow breath could calm the anxiety building within herself. She’d expected the enemy to discern many of her plans, but not so well that they’d have established foils millennia in advance.

“Jason defeated Prime once before. Now he has even more allies. I’m not worried.”

Uriel shrugged. “Your choice. I suppose you do have enough to worry about with yourself.”

It was Tangel’s turn to shrug. “I’ve also defeated my share of your kind. Turns out you’re easier to kill than humans in some respects.”

“A challenge! Shall we begin? I bet we could tear down half the tower before something goes wrong with the shields and High Terra is destroyed.”

“Are you so ready to die?”

“I do as Epsilon commands. His vision drives us forward, and he has determined that the time of organic sentience has passed.”

Tangel crossed her arms. “You know that there are a few of us who feel otherwise. And we outnumber you by a lot.”

“By now, Tanis has made her proclamation entreating the people of Sol to seek peace with the Scipio Alliance. When High Terra and the Cho are destroyed, all the evidence will point to the ISF and its agents. You will never know peace, Tangel. War shall be your future until you no longer have one.”

“So you don’t think you can kill me?” Tangel asked.

“Maybe I can, maybe I can’t. But I’m not alone here.”

Tangel cast an eye around the tower, seeking out other ascended beings, only to find that there were none inside it, but the structure was surrounded.

Like a white wave of energy, they began to flow up through the building, racing toward the café, their raw animosity surging ahead of their forms, striking Tangel like a physical blow.

“I suppose we’ll see how well you all fare,” she said as she placed a hand on the table, dissolving it and drawing the energy into herself.

Uriel rose and backed away. After two steps, the woman’s body began to melt away, replaced by a luminescent form, its tendrils stretching out across the café, consuming all they touched.

~So,~ Tangel said. ~Since you are clearly no longer Uriel, what shall I call you?~

~You can call me Lilith. I think it’s appropriate.~

~Very well. Farewell, Lilith.~ `Tangel reached inside herself and tapped into the CriEn she had been carefully shielding.

Lilith’s mind registered shock for the fraction of a second she had to live before the wave of sleptons slammed into her, shredding her limbs and rendering her nothing more than a gasping husk.

~You’re a fool if you think I came here to die,~ Tangel shouted at the fallen being and all its ilk racing toward her.

Outside the tower, the grav shield wavered, bolts of lightning arcing between it and the stasis shield as trace atmospheric molecules were annihilated.

Kiora, don’t fail me.

A gargling laugh came from Lilith. ~Then we all—~

The being’s proclamation cut off as the stasis shield disappeared, the lightning surrounding the tower following a second later.

Tangel took her bearings, prepared to rush to Kiora’s aid lest the wave of core AIs overpower her, but a series of blasts shook the tower as its exterior grav field emitters exploded.

Damn. Now that’s a hell of a way to take the stasis shield out of play. Nice work, Kiora.

Satisfied that death via the destruction of High Terra wasn’t imminent, Tangel refocused her attention on the onrushing wave of ascended beings.

Even with her CriEn, she couldn’t conceive of a means to defeat them, but she wouldn’t go down without a fight, and she’d take as many of them with her as she could.

Drawing more energy from the CriEn, she wove a shell around herself, ready for the wave of raw energy that preceded her enemies.

I’ve made it out of situations worse than this. OK…maybe not.

I sure wish Bob were here. I’d like to say goodbye.

AN UNENDING

STELLAR DATE: 06.05.8950 (Adjusted Years)

LOCATION: Raleigh, High Terra, Earth

REGION: Sol System, Hegemony of Worlds

“That’s it!” Finaeus crowed. “I have the codes.”

“Finally,” Malorie muttered. “I thought you were supposed to be good at this or something.”

The engineer shot her a cold look. “You know, I could stick your brain in a frog.”

“I’d like to see you try.”

“Stop it, you two!” Katrina glanced back at the door. “We’re going to have company any moment now. Did you transmit them?”

Finaeus snorted. “Did I transmit them. I didn’t shove a QC blade up my ass for funsies. Yes, I transmitted. The I2 has confirmed receipt.”

Darla hefted the rail gun she’d lifted off an AST soldier. “Good, because Jessica just reached out. They’re in deep shit and need the big guns.”

Katrina turned to the two admirals who sat on the floor, arms cuffed behind their backs. “Travers, Boseman, it’s been a pleasure working with you. I hope to never see you again.”

With that, she walked to the door and glanced outside. “Full stealth, people. Looks like Jessica is a ways away. We need to get to the ship and get a quarter of the way across the ring yesterday.”

Darla’s eyes grew concerned. “I—OK. You’re right. There’s nothing more we can do here.”

Katrina wondered what was bothering the AI, but decided not to ask. With everything going on, there was no point in borrowing trouble.

* * * * *

Jessica watched as Sera rose and stood at Jason’s side as they watched the horde of mentally shackled university students close on them, Prime’s eerie laugh coming from behind.

“You know,” the mad AI whispered. “Despite the fact that I’ve waited forever to see this moment…it’s worth it.”

<I just need to buy a little time,> Jessica said to Trevor. <Just a few minutes.>

<Any bright ideas?>

<Ideas, yes. Bright ones? No.>

She decided to start with bluster. She lifted her hands, electricity arcing between her fingers. “You know I could fry the both of you before you make a move. You’re more trapped than we are.”

Prime shook his head. “No. You see, my control over these shambling tools does not require my ongoing cognition to maintain. If you kill me, they’ll keep coming…and there are a lot more where they came from.

“I have a soft spot for universities. A lot of minds open and ready to learn. I just…taught them something they didn’t want to hear.”

Jessica let out a soft groan. “Stars, you really like to hear yourself speak, don’t you? So that’s your master plan, just watch Jason and Terrance get torn to pieces?”

“It’s poetic. It mirrors how this all started. I was torn to pieces when I was made. I was torn to pieces when Jason shot me clean out of his sister’s head. Virgo…well, Virgo has been torn to pieces for some time. He’s a little mad, you know.”

“Prime…” the nearest automaton hissed. “Jason and Terrance are well and good, but I want Tanis. I want to see her kneel before me. You promised me that.”

“I suppose I did.” Prime tapped an index finger against his lips. “I had hoped it would be Tanis who came here, not you, Jessica. You’re nothing more than a shadow’s shadow of that woman. Where is she, anyway?”

Jessica shrugged. “Aboard the I2, on her way here, no doubt.”

The automaton perked up, its featureless face turning to her. “Here? Or to High Terra?”

“Well, to High Terra, but if she were to learn of our plight, she would certainly come.”

“We must wait,” Virgo’s robot said, taking a step toward Prime.

The other AI drew a pistol from an inside pocket and fired three rounds into the speaker’s head.

It fell to the deck, and one of the remaining two stepped forward. “That isn’t amusing, Prime. I saved you from the black. I gave you purpose.”

“I had purpose,” Prime retorted. “All you gave me was propulsion.”

<The grav shield generator must be in the container with Virgo, right?> Sera asked Jessica. <Can you get over there and shut it off long enough for us to get in?>

Jessica measured the distance. <Maybe. I think these two would sic their zombies on you before I could get it open, though.>

Sera glanced back at the shambling horde of shackled people, her lips thinning. Jessica could tell she was weighing the cost.

<We just need to hold on a little longer,> she said before addressing Prime. “Sera is Tanis’s best friend…well, second best friend. If Tanis knows she’s in danger, she’ll come for sure.”

“Then we must wait,” Virgo said. “At least a little longer.”

Prime closed his eyes and sighed. Jessica wondered if the mad AI would destroy another automaton, but he simply nodded. “Very well. We’ll just hold position like this for now.”

Jessica sighed. “Then you live a little longer.”

Prime gave her a wild look and then began to laugh.

Jessica stared at him in disbelief for a second, and then joined in, slapping Trevor on the back.

<What’s gotten into you?> he asked.

<I just got Fina’s pod open. She’s awake and knows what to do. I can’t get nano past Virgo’s stupid crate, but she can get herself through.>

Trevor gave her a wide-eyed look and then burst out laughing as well.

Sera and Jason looked on in shock, and Jessica suspected that Iris and Terrance were doing the same—though they’d not revealed their location as yet.

Any day now, Fina, she urged.

A second after the thoughts formed in Jessica’s mind, Fina shot out of her pod, slashed her lightwand through one of the automatons, and rounded the back of Virgo’s container.

A cry of rage came from the remaining robot, and then Fina shouted, “Get in!”

Sera and Jason ran toward Jessica while Terrance and Iris materialized atop a nearby stack of deck plates, leaping from them to the top of Virgo’s boxy shell.

“Seal it!” Iris cried out as the students surged toward them only to crash into the grav shield a moment later.

“Terrance,” Prime cooed with delight. “I was only guessing that you were here. I’m glad to learn that I was correct.”

“I’m glad too,” Terrance replied. “I’m looking forward to seeing you die again.”

<Can you deal with Virgo?> Jessica asked Iris.

<With pleasure. You have Prime?>

<I can subdue him, yeah. I have magic fingers.>

Iris laughed and jumped behind Virgo’s container while Jason strode toward Prime.

“I can’t believe it’s really you. I also can’t believe you were this easy to defeat.”

A look of consternation crossed the face of the man Prime was inhabiting. “Well, in my defense, things have progressed a bit since you ended my life. I did my best to play catch-up.” He gestured at the sea of humans pressed against the grav shield. “I think I’ve done rather well for myself.”

“That’s your problem,” Jason shook his head. “Always was.”

“What’s that?” Prime hissed, his face contorting into a mask of rage.

“You’re on your own.”

Jason stepped back and nodded to Jessica.

She strode toward the man the AI hid within, her hand outstretched. “You might feel a pinch.”

“You do this, you’ll never save those people. Only I know how to undo what was done to them.”

Jessica considered the truth of those words, doing her best to weigh options. “If you’re telling the truth, does that mean you’ll free them?”

The expression that formed on Prime’s face was her answer.

She was about to deliver a surge of energy that would disable the AI—and hopefully not hurt the human host too much—when an explosion rocked the chamber. She whipped her head around to see fire and debris blasting inward through a bay door on the far end of the facility.

Except instead of beams and hull plating being sent out, a long, sleek ship slid into the space, the thrum of its grav drives filling the air.

<You all need a hand?> Katrina asked.

<Us less than these poor people down below you,> Jason replied. <Prime has shackled them.>

<Don’t worry,> Darla’s voice was grim. <I know how to undo what he’s done. Take that bastard out.>

Jessica turned back to the AI, a smile forming on her lips. “I guess we get a happy ending after all.”

THE GATES OF HEAVEN

STELLAR DATE: 06.05.8950 (Adjusted Years)

LOCATION: ISS I2, Nibiru

REGION: Sol System, Hegemony of Worlds

“The field is down!” Rachel proclaimed, a note of triumph in her voice.

“Good.” Tanis set her jaw, gaze on the jump gate that lay before the I2. “Take us through.”

“Take us in, helm,” Rachel ordered, the ship surging forward toward the fifteen-kilometer-wide ring a moment later.

Tanis did her best not to count the seconds, but failed, the total reaching fifteen before the stars flickered for an instant.

The positions and luminosity of all the celestial lights were unchanged. All save one.

Where Sol had been a pinprick of light a moment ago, now it burned brightly on the display, splashing light across the I2 and the High Terra ring that lay a light second away.

Slowly at first, but then faster and faster until their arrival created a blur in the holotank, the ships of the Scipio Alliance began to arrive around Earth.

Tanis broadcast her announcement again, calling for the surrender of the AST fleets and for peace with the Hegemony.

She turned to Joe, brows knit together. “Why does it feel like we just came home?”

“I don’t know.” He shook his head. “But it does…and I don’t understand it either.”

Before Tanis could reply, an alert lit up on the main holo, and she turned to see ships jumping in between the Allied fleet and High Terra.

“What the—”

“Fishbones!” Rachel called out. “Orders, Field Marshal?”

Tanis planted her hands on the rim of the holotank. “We fight.”

Around the I2, more and more ships continued to jump in, the number of human and AI vessels from across the Alliance climbing above a million, then beyond two million. The sea of starships grew so dense that Earth fell into darkness below their shadow.

Tanis began sending orders to over a hundred commanders, Angela filling in the gaps as they prepared the fleet to engage their enemies.

<Protect High Terra.> She gave her final order as more and more fishbones continued to jump in, their numbers sprinkled with larger ships like Chikora’s. <We’re here to save our homeworld, not destroy it.>

A thousand confirmations from admirals, generals, presidents, and a host of others came to her mind as humans and the scions of humans surged forward, beamfire streaking out into the core AI ships as they continued to jump in.

“We outnumber them ten to one,” Rachel said. “If not for needing to protect High Terra, this would be a cakewalk.”

Tanis crossed her arms, nodding grimly. “Captain, I want the first fleet to punch a hole. Position us between the ring and the enemy. They’ll have to get past us if they want to take it out.”

“Aye, Admiral.”

~Tanis.~ Bob’s voice filled her mind. ~Tangel needs you at the Hegemon’s Tower. Now. Take the Starkiller.~

Her eyes grew wide and she turned to Joe. “We have to go. Tangel needs…she needs us.”

He nodded, and she turned to Rachel. “We—”

“Go!” the captain shouted and waved a hand toward the back of the room. “We’ve got this.”

Tanis grabbed Joe’s hand and sped off the bridge, glancing back and calling to the ship’s captain. “You’ve got this, Rachel. Tear them apart.”

* * * * *

Tangel floated on a ball of energy, buoyed aloft by a sea of raging light spewed at her by the beings clawing their way up the tower. Already, entire floors had been destroyed in their hunger to end her life.

It’s so senseless, she thought as the CriEn’s power continued to keep her safe. Their drive, their anger. Shouldn’t they be above this? Are they still this upset about the nature of their creation that they want to pour that out on me?

The energy module she held within herself gave another alert. It was growing warmer. Before long, she would have to terminate her use of that power lest it destroy her, the tower, and warp the ring. That would see all their work this day undone.

I’ve died before. I can die again. This time, I don’t think Finaeus and Earnest will be here to save me. This time, it will be forever.

Tangel wished she could see the future like Bob could. She’d like to know for sure that her family would be safe. But there were always so many paths, so many choices that could be made.

Bob had explained it to her that because she was such a focal point, what she did swayed so many outcomes, and it was always more difficult to know one’s own mind than the minds of others.

~Give up!~ a voice called from below. ~You know it’s futile.~

I do, Tangel thought in the confines of her own mind. And yet I won’t give up…though to be honest, I don’t really know why.

<Tangel!> A voice cut through the cacophony surrounding her, blasting into her mind with startling clarity.

<Who…Harm?>

<Cassie. We’re here to help. What can we do?>

Tangel couldn’t help but laugh. I survived this long, why not her, too? She was always the most resourceful person I’d ever met.

She peered out through her shell, through the obscuring waves of energy that poured over her. A few kilometers away, she spotted the origin of the transmission.

Ah, Sabrina. <Don’t get too close. They’ll rip the ship to shreds,> she cautioned.

<Got it,> Sabrina’s voice reached her. <I don’t want to be ripped apart. Oh! Cargo has the Grace inbound as well. The locals are screaming at us on the comms, but they don’t know what to do about the mess you’re making. How big is that one you’re fighting, anyway?>

<It’s not one,> Tangel said. <It’s…a hundred?>

<Shit…oh, here comes the Grace,> Cheeky spoke next. <And the Starkiller? Where’d that come from?>

Tangel laughed again. <She’s here. I think I know what to do.>

* * * * *

The I2 was only halfway through the field of enemy ships when the Starkiller burst out of its docking bay.

The I-Class ship’s stasis shield was lit up like a supernova as enemy fire poured into it, enough to tax even the super-carrier’s ability to shed beamfire.

“Bob better open a hole for us,” Joe muttered as he angled their ship toward the inside of the shield.

“He will.” Tanis gripped her seat’s armrests. “Unless I really pissed him off and didn’t realize it.”

<He’s got it. There’s our window,> Angela said, marking a spot on the display.

The instant the I2’s shield opened the fifty meters necessary to allow the Starkiller passage, a torrent of enemy fire poured through.

Tanis brought up their own stasis shields, and Joe spooled out the ship’s AP nozzle, vectoring their thrust so the spray of gammas didn’t hit the I2 as he threaded the needle at over two hundred gs of thrust.

<Showoff,> Angela laughed.

Joe grunted in annoyance. “Hey, you wanna get there in time or not?”

<Admit it. You’ve missed me.>

“Trust me,” Joe glanced at Tanis. “Tangel can be plenty prickly. That part of you survived the merge, Ang.”

<Glad to know my wit is indefatigable.>

Tanis shook her head silently as she focused on the ship’s scan and shields.

They had a full loadout of antimatter aboard, but she decided to save the ammunition. There was no telling what it would take to save Tangel, and one ship wouldn’t make that big a difference against the horde of core AIs.

The Starkiller bucked and slewed through space, skating across the fire from enemy beams more than flying through a void. After an eternity, they finally punched through the field of core AI ships, and got a clear view of High Terra’s inner surface.

Tanis inhaled, rasping the words, “Eternal stars. How is she surviving that?”

The Hegemon’s Tower shone with a light that far outstripped Sol’s. A torrent of pure white energy poured up through it, slamming into a single focal point at the apex of the spire. The beams splayed out from there, slashing back and forth across Earth’s north pole, creating an aurora that reached nearly to the planet’s equator.

“I don’t have the foggiest,” Joe said. “But I bet she can’t hold out forever. We need to get her free.”

<But how?> Angela asked. <I don’t know that firing on the tower would do much.>

~Tanis. Angela. I…I can’t manage much longer. Get Sabrina and the Grace to…stasis. Fire the beams….~

Tangel’s voice faded away, but Tanis and Angela were already issuing orders.

<Joe, get us on this vector,> Angela instructed while priming the Starkiller’s antimatter beams.

Tanis reached out to the two ships circling the tower. <Cheeky, I need you to fly in and break hard right over Tangel. Go full bubble. Cargo, I need you to spray a grav field around her. Keep the atmosphere back.>

A pair of confirmations answered her, and Tanis fell back in her seat.

She glanced at Joe and smiled. “If this doesn’t work…well, it was nice seeing High Terra intact for a little bit.”

“Such an optimist,” he reached out and nudged her arm. “I’m ready.”

<Do it, Cheeky,> Tanis ordered, teeth clamping down on her lip as Sabrina spun on its axis and boosted straight toward the Hegemon’s Tower, pions spraying out across the ring as it slewed into place directly above the focal point of the energy tearing at Tangel.

For a moment, it appeared as though the ship had been destroyed in the energy surge, but then a stasis bubble appeared, the attacking core AIs’ raw surge of power splashing against it, only to be caught in a grav field spreading out from the Grace as it settled above Sabrina.

Tanis signaled Angela. <Let them have it.>

The Starkiller ignited its antimatter beams, hammering the mass of ascended beings swarming the upper half of the tower. The energy unleashed through the annihilation of matter sprayed quantum shadowparticles into their midst, tearing at the ascended beings across dimensions, and snuffing out their light.

It felt like Angela fired the ship’s unthinkable weapons for hours, but when the spray of antiprotons finally ceased, the weapons display registered only fourteen seconds.

A column of smoke rose from the remains of the Hegemon’s Tower, the upper third of the kilometers-high structure entirely gone. Tanis swept active scan across the growing cloud of black soot, searching for the two ships and their precious cargo.

They emerged as one, the Grace holding Sabrina aloft, a hole burned clear through the ship from bottom to top. Nestled between the two vessels like a pearl was a white shell that Tanis prayed contained a living Tangel.

“Not again,” Joe whispered, reaching for Tanis’s hand. “I can’t see her die again.”

~I’m not dead,~ Tangel’s voice reached them. It was weak, but held a note of mirth. ~Oh ye of little faith.~

<Can you get them back up to the I2?> Tanis asked Cargo.

Above them, the I2 and First Fleet hung between High Terra and the core AI fleet. As she watched, the other five I-Class ships joined them, the six mighty supercarriers darting stasis lances into the enemy, shredding fishbones while the smaller Alliance vessels protected against the growing swarm of drones that were filling the battlespace.

Cargo sent back a confirmation. <The Grace can, but High Terra’s defense forces seem to think we’re part of the problem. I’m tracking dozens of ships headed our way.>

“Shit,” Tanis cursed aloud. “Can’t they see we’re defending them?”

<Old habits die hard,> Angela replied, and Joe nodded in agreement.

Tanis sighed and responded to Cargo. <Hold your course. I’ll take care of them.>

<You got it.>

“What’s the plan?” Joe asked.

“Uhh…I’m going to start by begging them for help.”

<Worth a shot,> Angela agreed.

Tanis flipped the comm system to an all-channel broadcast.

<This is Field Marshal Tanis of the Scipio Alliance. I know things look utterly insane right now, but the force you are being attacked by is not from the Alliance. Those are core AIs, ascended beings who left Sol millennia ago at the end of the Sentience Wars. Your hegemon was in league with them, but their goal was never to aid her, it was to see all of us destroy one another. Humanity and the AIs of the Inner Stars need to unite, we have to end this war and stop our true enemy from destroying us all. Admiral Lorana has already joined with us, your people are spilling their blood defending you. If nothing else, at least focus on defense and do not attack Alliance ships.>

She ended the transmission and gave Joe a sheepish shrug. “I think I’m running out of speech steam.”

<Look,> Angela said. <They’re shifting vector.>

An inbound transmission reached the Starkiller, and Tanis put it on the overhead speakers.

“This is Admiral Sini of the Home Defense Fleet. All ships, do not fire on Scipio Alliance targets. Defend High Terra and Earth from the core fleet. I repeat, do not fire on Alliance targets.”

Joe glanced at Tanis and gave her a wink that had a bit of his old spark back. “Looks like you said just what was needed.”

She nodded, sagging back in her seat until Angela marked a half-dozen targets on her HUD.

<Don’t count your chickens yet. We still have to make it to the I2.>

* * * * *

By the time the Starkiller settled into the I2’s forward docking bay, half the core AI fleet had been destroyed, and the rest were boosting away on a stellar north outsystem vector with a million Alliance ships giving chase.

~Good work,~ Tangel’s voice trickled into Tanis and Angela’s minds. ~Stars. I need a vacation.~

Tanis didn’t reply, and instead dashed out of the Starkiller and raced across the bay to where Sabrina was settling onto a cradle.

Not only was there a hole burned clear through the vessel’s hull amidships, but the hull was burned away in a dozen other places as well.

<Sabrina,> she called out. <Are you…OK?>

<I’ve been better.> The AI sounded tired. <But we’re alive and safe and sound. I just hope everyone else down on the ring is alright.>

<Everyone else?> Tanis asked as she waited for the ship’s airlock to open.

<Only Misha is aboard with me.>

<And just me and West here,> Cargo added from the Grace. <Everyone else is still down on the ring.>

Tanis felt sweat bead on her brow. <The Voyager?>

<I don’t know,> Cargo said. <They went spinward around the ring to stop some other attack. The ring didn’t blow up, so I guess that’s good?>

<Troy just sent word, they made it,> Bob said, a note of surprise filling his rumbling tone. <All of them. That was unexpected.>

A hand touched her shoulder, and Tanis spun to see Joe. He nodded to the airlock that was finally opening, and they both fell still, uncertain of what they’d see.

The door slid aside and there stood Tangel, leaning on Misha as she slowly walked across the threshold. She was in her human form, though her skin was ash grey.

“Stars,” she whispered, taking a few steps forward. “I sure am glad to see the four of you.”

“Wait…four?” Tanis gasped.

<Wait…how did I miss that?> Angela said. <And it’s not four, it’s five.>

Tangel grinned as she fell into their waiting arms. “Looks like the kids are finally going to outnumber the parents.”

PART THREE – HOME

JOE AND TANIS TO MARS

STELLAR DATE: 06.09.8950 (Adjusted Years)

LOCATION: Northern Shores of the Melas Chasma, Mariner Seas

REGION: Mars, Sol System

Tanis, Joe, and Tangel stood on the shores of the Melas Chasma, gazing out over the waves rolling in toward the rocky shore. Tufts of scrubby grass grew in sheltered corners waving in the winds sweeping up the bank.

Tanis closed her eyes, remembering the view from when she was a child: the clear blue waters, sweeping plains, and lush forests. That was not what lay before her now. The water was dark and brackish, the air all but toxic, and in the distance, dark clouds tumbled over the remains of the Mars 1 Ring.

Humanity’s first planetary ring, one of its grandest and most beautiful creations, was nothing more than a shattered ruin forming a jagged mountain range on the far side of the Chasma.

She couldn’t help but think that it looked like the teeth of a saw, its blade having cut through Mars, taking a rest after its initial destruction.

“I remember when you brought me here,” Joe said, glancing at Tanis, then Tangel. “You introduced me to the dolphins.”

The two women nodded, Tangel speaking first, “I’ve heard that some of the pods still live in Europa, though most fled Sol ages ago.”

“Someday, dolphins will return to Mars,” Tanis said. “We’ll rebuild this world.”

<You better believe it,> Angela added.

Joe’s lips twisted into a grimace. “Good. The Jovians leaving it like this as a ‘message’ is disgusting. This was the first planet, following Earth, that we set foot on. It should be honored, not left a desolate wasteland.”

“What do you think about Mars 1?” Tangel asked, turning to Tanis. “Remove it, or let it become like the Insi Ring on Ceres?”

“Part of it, maybe. Perhaps we can lift parts back into space, reuse them on a new ring.”

Tangel smiled. “I like that idea. A proper memorial to history, unlike what the Jovians left here.”

<Then we can walk through it and show the kids all the places you shot bad guys.> Angela’s smirk appeared in their minds.

Tangel laughed while Tanis reached down and placed a hand on her abdomen. <Another two children. Twins, no less.>

~Gives us even more to fight for,~ Tangel said to her.

~I’m more than happy, but I hope by the time they’re born, the fighting will be over.~

Tangel chuckled. ~Don’t go cursing us already! I’m optimistic for the future.~

~So am I,~ Tanis replied.

~I know. That’s one of the things I like about you.~

~Tangel I am you.~

The ascended woman winked at her. ~Lots of people don’t like themselves.~

~We’re not ‘lots of people’.~

~Stars…isn’t that the truth.~

The group walked along the seashore, each one keeping an eye on the storm that was forming in the vale between the ring’s ruins and the Melas Chasma.

“We should get back to the ship soon,” Joe said after another half hour of walking and chatting about the reconstruction of Mars. “The girls will have reached the top of Olympus Mons’s escarpment by now.”

“Only if they cheated,” Tanis replied.

Tangel laughed. “Which I’m sure they did.”

After a few more minutes of staring out over the waves, watching whitetops begin to form, the group turned away from the water, climbing back up the low coastal hills to where the Starkiller waited.

“We’re agreed, right?” Tanis asked as they boarded the ship. “We keep this thing as it is. Antimatter beams and all.”

“I wish we didn’t need to,” Joe replied. “As much as I like this ship’s ability to destroy any target…well…I hate that we need the option.”

Tangel nodded soberly. “We’ll keep it. For now, at least. Let’s just hope we can convince enough of the Alliance to press our advantage against Epsilon and his faction. If we do, we can end this thing before it drags on for another five millennia.”

“Seriously, don’t say things like that.” Tanis laughed as she stepped aboard the Starkiller. “C’mon, we should hurry. I’d like to get back to Earth before the Senate votes.”

* * * * *

Less than a day later, the Starkiller settled onto a cradle in the I2’s A1 Dock.

As the group walked down the ramp to the ship’s deck, Tanis glanced out the bay doors, taking in the view of Earth and the slash of High Terra glinting in the sunlight.

‘Sunlight’. There’s a word I don’t often get to use.

From space, it all looked so peaceful, but the aftermath of saving High Terra was not yet settled. Ascended beings from Hades’s faction were scouring the ring, searching for any of their kind who had escaped the Starkiller’s beams at the Hegemon’s Tower. Darla was somewhere down there as well, working with teams to find the last of Prime and Virgo’s shackled humans.

Public opinion on High Terra and Earth was divided. Most were glad to see an end to the war, but less pleased that they’d lost, and the victors were camping out in space above them.

Many of the ships that had come to Earth were gone, returned to the disparate battles that still raged across the galaxy, spreading word of the Hegemony’s surrender and the defeat of the core AI force.

“Tanis!” a voice called out from nearby, and she turned to see a dockcar approaching, nearly a dozen people filling its four rows of seats.

“Krissy? What’s wrong?”

Joe grabbed her hand. “Looks like something’s right. Look at those smiles.”

Sera was the first one out of the car as it stopped before the Richards family. “Great news! The Hegemony’s Senate voted to join the Scipio Alliance.”

“That’s not all,” Krissy added as she approached.

“Oh shit,” Tangel said with a laugh. “That doesn’t sound good.”

<Yeah, spill it,> Angela added. <Stop messing with us.>

“Better than good.” Sera wore a sly grin. “They named you hegemon, Tanis.”

“What? Me?” She turned to Tangel. “What about her?”

“Nope.” Krissy shook her head. “You. From what I managed to gather, your friend Darla had something to do with it.”

Tanis pursed her lips. “I’ll have to remember to thank her for that later.”

A crowd had formed around them, and shouts of joy and congratulations filled the air while hands were shaken and hugs were exchanged.

Tanis noticed Cary giving Krissy a rather intense stare—not quite one of mistrust, but perhaps confusion.

<What is it?> she asked her daughter. <Is everything alright?>

<Yeah…I thought I saw something in Krissy’s mind a few days ago, but it looks fine now. She’s alright.>

Tanis laughed and reached for her daughter, pulling her into an embrace. <What was it?>

<Just ghosts. I still have a lot of A1 in my mind, and I think I see Krissy through her eyes sometimes. It makes things…weird.>

“I think this is the perfect time for a celebration in Ol’ Sam!” Joe proclaimed. “Who’s up for a barbeque on the lake?”

Tanis shook her head, glad to see her husband returning to his old self, but already feeling the burden of more duty settling on her shoulders.

He turned to her and grinned. “Oh, heck no, Tanis. I know your ‘all work and no play’ look all too well. The Hegemony can wait. Today, we celebrate. High Terra and its senators will still be there tomorrow.”

She relented under his smiling gaze. “Fine, let’s get a bit of fun under our belts. Stars knows there’ll always be more work to do.”

Angela laughed. <And boy, does Tanis know how to work.>

The group began to move toward a nearby maglev, laughing and calling to one another, reveling in the moment.

Tanis fell behind, smiling at their backs but unable to keep herself from glancing back at Earth one last time.

~Come,~ Tangel said.

Tanis turned to see her otherself waiting for her, hand outstretched.

<Yeah, come,> Angela added. <Gotta keep the stress down for the new ‘uns you’re brewing inside.>

Tangel nodded. ~And nothing recharges a person more than good food and good company.~

Tanis laughed as she picked up the pace, settling an arm on Tangel’s shoulder, her otherself doing the same. “OK, no more stalling from me. We did work our asses off to earn this, didn’t we?”

<And we died a few times, too,> Angela added.

Tangel sighed. ~I think that counts as work.~

A laugh burst from Tanis’s lips, and she gestured at the crowd that had already reached the maglev platform. “We’d better catch up. I want to make sure I get the first BLT.”

<Always thinking with your stomach,> Angela chided.

“Hey, I’m eating for four now, and if I’m to be the hegemon, I want to start my reign on a full stomach.”

THE END

The Orion War has come to an end, but peace will not automatically follow. Hundreds of stellar nations are still embroiled in conflict, and billions of AIs remain enslaved across the galaxy.

Follow the next leg of Tanis’s epic journey across space and time in Scions of Humanity, book one of The Ascension War series coming Christmas 2020.

AFTERWORD

With the end of this series, we’ve finally come to the end of the third chapter of Tanis Richards’s long and storied life.

Many of you first met her fighting to see the Intrepid start its journey in Outsystem and have followed her through that series and on to the Orion War. Others started back at the beginning with Tanis aboard the Kirby Jones in her earliest (chronologically speaking) novel, Shore Leave.

Still more joined the Aeon 14 universe through other avenues and found Tanis at the heart of it.

I still recall the triumph I felt when I finished her first novel, which is now named Destiny Lost, but at that time had a working title of Sabrina. Though it went through extensive revisions later, that was the first fiction novel I ever completed, and by its close, I knew I wanted to write more.

Outsystem was always meant to be a one-book prequel for Destiny Lost, but Tanis has a way of demanding more stories from me. Likewise, she required me to tell of her early years in the Origins of Destiny series (which is still ongoing as of this writing).

But ever since I wrote A Path in the Darkness, I knew that the scope of this tale would be unimaginably large, and Tanis would have an incredible life. It was around then that I planned and wrote what I thought would be “The End” of Tanis’s journey across space and time, but I still haven’t gotten to that point yet—moreover, I have an inkling of the adventures that await Tanis after that point.

All of which is to say that this is not The End for Tanis. Neither is the next series, the Ascension War.

At this point, I don’t know how I can ever say goodbye to her, and as things stand, I don’t see that happening any time soon.

I count this as a good thing, and I hope you do as well.

I’m raising a glass to Tanis, Angela, Tangel, and the whole cast tonight. I hope you do as well, and I can’t wait to share more of their tales with everyone hungry to read them.

Malorie Cooper

THE BOOKS OF AEON 14

Keep up to date with what is releasing in Aeon 14 with the free Aeon 14 Reading Guide.

Outlaws of Aquilia (Age of the FTL Wars)

- Book 1: The Daedalus Job

- Book 2: Maelstrom Reach

- Book 3: Marauder’s Compass

Althea’s Raiders (Age of the FTL Wars)

- Book 1: The Fall of Rome (2021)

- Book 2: The Terran Empire (2021)

The Sentience Wars: Origins (Age of the Sentience Wars – w/James S. Aaron)

- Books 1-3 Omnibus: Lyssa’s Rise

- Books 4-5 Omnibus (incl. Vesta Burning): Lyssa’s Fire

- Book 0 Prequel: The Proteus Bridge (Full length novel)

- Book 1: Lyssa’s Dream

- Book 2: Lyssa’s Run

- Book 3: Lyssa’s Flight

- Book 4: Lyssa’s Call

- Book 5: Lyssa’s Flame

The Sentience Wars: Solar War 1 (Age of the Sentience Wars – w/James S. Aaron)

- Book 0 Prequel: Vesta Burning (Full length novel)

- Book 1: Eve of Destruction

- Book 2: The Spreading Fire

- Book 3: A Fire Upon the Worlds (2020)

Enfield Genesis (Age of the Sentience Wars – w/Lisa Richman)

- Book 1: Alpha Centauri

- Book 2: Proxima Centauri

- Book 3: Tau Ceti

- Book 4: Epsilon Eridani

- Book 5: Sirius

Origins of Destiny (The Age of Terra)

- Prequel: Storming the Norse Wind

- Prequel: Angel’s Rise: The Huntress (available on Patreon)

- Book 1: Tanis Richards: Shore Leave

- Book 2: Tanis Richards: Masquerade

- Book 3: Tanis Richards: Blackest Night

- Book 4: Tanis Richards: Kill Shot

The Intrepid Saga (The Age of Terra)

- Book 1: Outsystem

- Book 2: A Path in the Darkness

- Book 3: Building Victoria

- The Intrepid Saga Omnibus – Also contains Destiny Lost, book 1 of the Orion War series

- Destiny Rising – Special Author’s Extended Edition comprised of both Outsystem and A Path in the Darkness with over 100 pages of new content.

The Sol Dissolution (The Age of Terra)

- Book 1: Venusian Uprising

- Book 2: Assault on Sedna

- Book 3: Hyperion War

- Book 4: Fall of Terra (2021)

The Warlord (Before the Age of the Orion War)

- Books 1-3 Omnibus: The Warlord of Midditerra

- Book 1: The Woman Without a World

- Book 2: The Woman Who Seized an Empire

- Book 3: The Woman Who Lost Everything

Legacy of the Lost (The FTL Wars Era w/Chris J. Pike)

- Book 1: Fire in the Night Sky

- Book 2: A Blight Upon the Stars

- Book 3: A Specter and an Invasion

The Orion War

- Book 1-3 Omnibus: Battle for New Canaan (includes Set the Galaxy on Fire anthology)

- Book 4-6 Omnibus: The Greatest War (includes Ignite the Stars anthology)

- Book 7-9 Omnibus: Assault on Orion

- Book 10-12 Omnibus: Hegemony of Humanity (includes Return to Kapteyn’s Star) (2020)

- Book 0 Prequel: To Fly Sabrina

- Book 1: Destiny Lost

- Book 2: New Canaan

- Book 3: Orion Rising

- Book 4: The Scipio Alliance

- Book 5: Attack on Thebes

- Book 6: War on a Thousand Fronts

- Book 7: Precipice of Darkness

- Book 8: Airtha Ascendancy

- Book 9: The Orion Front

- Book 10: Starfire

- Book 10.5: Return to Kapteyn’s Star

- Book 11: Race Across Spacetime

- Book 12: Return to Sol: Attack at Dawn

- Book 13: Return to Sol: Star Rise

Non-Aeon 14 volumes containing Tanis stories

- Bob’s Bar Volume 1

- Quantum Legends 3: Aberrant Ascension

Building New Canaan (Age of the Orion War – w/J.J. Green)

- Book 1: Carthage

- Book 2: Tyre

- Book 3: Troy

- Book 4: Athens

Tales of the Orion War

- Book 1: Set the Galaxy on Fire

- Book 2: Ignite the Stars

Multi-Author Collections

- Volume 1: Repercussions

Perilous Alliance (Age of the Orion War – w/Chris J. Pike)

- Book 1-3 Omnibus: Crisis in Silstrand

- Book 3.5-6 Omnibus: War in the Fringe

- Book 0 Prequel: Escape Velocity

- Book 1: Close Proximity

- Book 2: Strike Vector

- Book 3: Collision Course

- Book 3.5: Decisive Action

- Book 4: Impact Imminent

- Book 5: Critical Inertia

- Book 6: Impulse Shock

- Book 7: Terminal Velocity

The Delta Team (Age of the Orion War)

- Book 1: The Eden Job

- Book 2: The Disknee World

- Book 3: Rogue Planets

Serenity (Age of the Orion War – w/A. K. DuBoff)

- Book 1: Return to the Ordus

- Book 2: War of the Rosette

Rika’s Marauders (Age of the Orion War)

- Book 1-3 Omnibus: Rika Activated

- Book 1-7 Full series omnibus: Rika’s Marauders

- Prequel: Rika Mechanized

- Book 1: Rika Outcast

- Book 2: Rika Redeemed

- Book 3: Rika Triumphant

- Book 4: Rika Commander

- Book 5: Rika Infiltrator

- Book 6: Rika Unleashed

- Book 7: Rika Conqueror

Non-Aeon 14 Anthologies containing Rika stories

- Bob’s Bar Volume 2

The Genevian Queen (Age of the Orion War)

- Book 1: Rika Rising

- Book 2: Rika Coronated

- Book 3: Rika Destroyer (2020)

Perseus Gate (Age of the Orion War)

Season 1: Orion Space

- Episode 1: The Gate at the Grey Wolf Star

- Episode 2: The World at the Edge of Space

- Episode 3: The Dance on the Moons of Serenity

- Episode 4: The Last Bastion of Star City

- Episode 5: The Toll Road Between the Stars

- Episode 6: The Final Stroll on Perseus’s Arm

- Eps 1-3 Omnibus: The Trail Through the Stars

- Eps 4-6 Omnibus: The Path Amongst the Clouds

Season 2: Inner Stars

- Episode 1: A Meeting of Bodies and Minds

- Episode 2: A Deception and a Promise Kept

- Episode 3: A Surreptitious Rescue of Friends and Foes

- Episode 3.5: Anomaly on Cerka (w/Andrew Dobell)

- Episode 4: A Victory and a Crushing Defeat

- Episode 5: A Trial and the Tribulations (2020)

- Episode 6: A Deal and a True Story Told (2021)

- Episode 7: A New Empire and An Old Ally (2021)

- Eps 1-3 Omnibus: A Siege and a Salvation from Enemies

Hand’s Assassin (Age of the Orion War – w/T.G. Ayer)

- Book 1: Death Dealer

- Book 2: Death Mark (2021)

Machete System Bounty Hunter (Age of the Orion War – w/Zen DiPietro)

- Book 1: Hired Gun

- Book 2: Gunning for Trouble

- Book 3: With Guns Blazing

Fennington Station Murder Mysteries (Age of the Orion War)

- Book 1: Whole Latte Death (w/Chris J. Pike)

- Book 2: Cocoa Crush (w/Chris J. Pike)

The Empire (Age of the Orion War)

- Book 1: The Empress and the Ambassador

- Book 2: Consort of the Scorpion Empress (2020)

- Book 3: By the Empress’s Command (2020)

Bitchalante (Age of the Orion War)

- Book 1: Bitchalante (2021)

The Ascension War (Age of the Orion War)

- Book 1: Scions of Humanity (2020)

OTHER BOOKS BY M. D. COOPER

Destiny’s Sword

- Book 1: Lucidum Run

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Malorie Cooper likes to think of herself as a dreamer and a wanderer, yet her feet are firmly grounded in reality.

A twenty-year software development veteran, Malorie eventually climbed the ladder to the position of software architect and CTO, where she gained a wealth of experience managing complex systems and large groups of people.

Her experiences there translated well into the realm of science fiction, and when her novels took off, she was primed and ready to make the jump into a career as a full-time author.

A ‘maker’ from an early age, Malorie loves to craft things, from furniture, to cosplay costumes, to a well-spun tale, she can’t help but to create new things every day.

A rare extrovert writer, she loves to hang out with readers, and people in general. If you meet her at a convention, she just might be rocking a catsuit, cosplaying one of her own characters, or maybe her latest favorite from Overwatch!

She shares her home with a brilliant young girl, her wonderful wife (who also writes), a cat that chirps at birds, a never-ending list of things she would like to build, and ideas…

Find out what’s coming next at www.aeon14.com.

Follow her on Instagram at www.instagram.com/m.d.cooper.

Hang out with the fans on Facebook at www.facebook.com/groups/aeon14fans.

Table of Contents

FOREWORD

PREVIOUSLY…

KEY CHARACTERS

MAPS

PART 1 – NEW CANAAN

A DIVE TO REMEMBER

GOODBYE, VIRGO

BACK INTO THE FRAY

SNEAK ATTACK

HOMECOMING

MOPPING UP

THE PRESIDENT’S MOTHER

MARSHAL

GTFO

THE JUMP

SEARCHERS IN THE DARK

DEFENDING CARTHAGE

UPDATE

A VIEW FROM THE DARK

PICK YOUR TARGETS

BREACH

SHROUD THE LIGHTBRINGER

A FRIENDLY SURPRISE

CARTHAGE

I AM BOB

A MEMORY

CONVENE

PART 2 – SOL

FAMILY MATTERS

SOLBOUND

HOME

REGROUP

SEDNA BOUND

ARRANGEMENT

IN PURSUIT

JOVE

CHIKORA’S CONCLAVE

CHO DIVING

IN PURSUIT OF FINA

CALISTO

HIGH TERRA

URIEL

A DECISION

REACTOR REFACTOR

WELCOME TO THE ALLIANCE

THE TOWER

CONVINCING ARGUMENT

ON RAILS

THE ARCHIVES

SAVING GRACE

OVERWHELM

AN UNENDING

THE GATES OF HEAVEN

PART THREE – HOME

JOE AND TANIS TO MARS

AFTERWORD

THE BOOKS OF AEON 14

OTHER BOOKS BY M. D. COOPER

ABOUT THE AUTHOR