The Last Stand Read online

  “They’re trying to take down our jamming field?” Tyra wondered aloud. “They’re trying to get away from us?”

  “Maybe that means they’re not trying to kill us,” the ship’s chief engineer suggested, a hopeful quiver in her voice.

  “That, or they’re afraid we might have reinforcements coming,” Tyra replied.

  “It took three hours to calculate this jump. They have to know that we won’t have reinforcements until then, and there’s no way we’ll last that long,” the helmsman replied.

  “No, we won’t,” Tyra agreed as the first wave of Faro fighters reached them. She looked up from her tactical grid to the holo dome. A dozen glinting specks were swooping toward them, riding on bright red thruster trails. Green pulse lasers and kinetic cannons tracked out from the Veritus, catching one of those fighters in the crossfire. It exploded and molten debris shot out in fiery tentacles.

  The other fighters began jinking evasively. They fired back with red pulse lasers and dozens of glinting silver missiles.

  Point defenses tracked those missiles, catching two of them before the remainder sailed on to impact on the Veritus’s hull.

  More muffled booms shivered through the deck.

  “We’ve lost another two jamming field projectors!” the chief engineer announced. “Our field is down to half strength.”

  Tyra grimaced and shook her head, watching on the battle grid as the next wave of enemy fighters approached the Veritus from behind. Matching waves raced up behind the other ships in her fleet, each of them targeting her ships’ field projectors.

  After three more waves and just ten minutes, all of Tyra’s ships had lost their quantum jamming fields, leaving the Faros free to jump away.

  “There they go,” Tyra said, watching as the Faro fighters flew back to their carrier ships. Long-range lasers still streaked between the Faros’ five capital ships and Tyra’s five.

  “One of our ships has just lost its shields!” the comms officer announced.

  “Have them fall back,” Tyra said.

  “The Faros have stopped firing...” the gunnery officer said.

  “The Concordance is hailing us!” the comms officer added.

  Tyra tapped the flashing comms icon on her display, and Abaddon’s smiling face appeared before. “Had enough yet?” he asked.

  “You hailed us just to gloat?” Tyra replied. “I didn’t realize you were so petty.”

  “Pettiness is the language of petty people. I had to be sure you’d understand me.”

  Tyra gritted her teeth, but affected a thin smile. “And what is it you expect us to understand?”

  “That resistance is futile. Your forces at the wormhole will also be overwhelmed. It is only a matter of time. Therefore, you have just two options: join me, or die. I know you don’t believe Etherus is god any more than I do. If he were, don’t you think he would have destroyed me a long time ago?”

  Tyra said nothing to that. It was hard to defend a belief system that wasn’t hers, but that didn’t mean she thought Abaddon would be any better in the role of supreme ruler. Etherus might not be the conquering hero she wanted him to be, but at least his apathy cut both ways: he didn’t actively harm or threaten his subjects.

  “We won’t submit to an empire of evil,” Tyra replied.

  “Evil? I’m not evil. I just want answers, like you.”

  “What about all of your slaves?”

  “If it were wrong to enslave them, Etherus would have stopped me. Unless you’re admitting that he’s not as good as he claims to be.”

  Tyra refrained from poly-parroting the explanation Etherus had given them for his inaction. “Try defending your actions without invoking Etherus as a scapegoat.”

  Abaddon smiled. “How’s this: if I were evil, wouldn’t I keep attacking you until your ships are all destroyed? And yet, here I am, retreating while your jugular is exposed.”

  “We’re not your target,” Tyra said. “And if you stick around, you risk being overwhelmed by our reinforcements.”

  “Yes... the ones you failed to call for before we jammed your comms. Even if Admiral Wheeler realizes that you need her help and does send you reinforcements, those ships won’t arrive for several hours. That’s more than enough time for us to destroy you and leave.”

  “Then why don’t you?”

  “Because maybe I’m not as evil as you think? Dwell on that, Tyra, and perhaps by the time we arrive at The Holy City, we can arrive there as friends seeking answers together. After all, that is why Astralis left, is it not?”

  With that, the comms ended, and Tyra was left gaping at a blank screen.

  “Your orders, Captain?” the helmsman asked uneasily.

  All eyes were on her. How much had they overheard from her conversation with Abaddon? How much had they believed of his lies?

  “The enemy just jumped away,” the sensor operator announced. “Should I try to find their signatures?”

  Tyra shook her head. “Take us straight to The Holy City. We’ll catch up with them there. Hopefully Abaddon is wrong about the city’s lack of defenses, and Etherus will have some kind of firepower to add to ours by the time we arrive.”

  “Aye, ma’am.”

  “ETA until our next jump?”

  “Two hours,” the helm replied.

  “Good. Comms—contact Admiral Wheeler with an update. Ask her to send whatever ships she can spare to The Holy City.”

  “Aye, Captain.”

  Those reinforcements would be running three hours behind them, but it would be better to have them than not. She rose from her control station on stiff, cramping legs. “If anyone needs me, I’ll be in my quarters.”

  She turned to look at the helmsman and queried her ARCs for the man’s name. “Lieutenant Gorman Argos,” she said, reading the ID tag that appeared above his head. He had short black hair, indigo eyes and dark skin.

  “Yes, ma’am?” he asked.

  “You have the conn.”

  “Aye, Captain.”

  “Everyone else, carry on.”

  Tyra strode for the recessed stairway leading down from the bridge, and hurried down those steps. The marine sergeant guarding the doors stood at attention and saluted her as she approached.

  “At ease,” she said, and waited for him to open the doors. They swished open and she breezed through into a long, gleaming white corridor.

  It was time to go check on her children. After losing one battle with the enemy, she now winced at the thought of having them on board.

  Before they arrived at The Holy City and joined another potentially lethal confrontation, Tyra resolved to send them safely away with Brak aboard the fastest shuttle the Veritus had.

  There was no sense in getting them killed along with her.

  Chapter 20

  The Nexus

  “You can take the bed,” Lucien said. “I’ll sleep in the living room.”

  Addy just looked at him, her expression fraught with unspoken emotions. Bitterness? Jealousy? No... anger, he decided.

  But all she said was, “Okay.”

  Lucien left the bedroom and went to lie on the couch in the living room of their suite. He didn’t have a blanket or a pillow, but the room and his Faro robes were warm enough. The couch was comfortable at least.

  He tried turning off the lights with a verbal command, and was surprised to find that it worked. The suite plunged into darkness, and he lay there listening to an aching silence.

  He felt bad putting up walls with Addy. She didn’t deserve it, and if he was being honest with himself, a big part of the reason he was pushing her away was that he was afraid of what might happen if he didn’t.

  He was badly confused. He had memories with both Tyra and Addy, and both sets of memories corresponded to the same points in time, making him feel like a married man with a mistress, even though he’d never actually cheated on his wife. Regardless, he had all of the corresponding guilt, and that made it easy to think about actually cheating. If yo
u’ve already done it, what’s the difference in doing it again?

  Except that he hadn’t.

  Lucien frowned and shook his head to clear it. He and Addy had bigger problems than the love triangle they found themselves in right now. They needed to focus on finding the Forge and destroying it. After that, Lucien would have plenty of time to unravel his conflicting feelings and memories to figure out who he actually loved the most.

  Lucien rolled over and cleared his mind. Sleep eventually came, but it brought no relief. His dreams were haunted by Addy. She was crying, accusing him of betraying her, of never really loving her.

  He awoke with a start and lay blinking bleary eyes at the ceiling. Ghostly after-images floated before his eyes and the fuzzy darkness seemed to become a living thing, reaching out to suffocate him.

  Then the room snapped into focus, and the ghostly shapes fled. Lucien turned to look out the balcony at the darkened viewports. They were almost entirely polarized to keep out the starlight and the reflected sunlight beaming off Meson I and Meson II.

  Lucien lay awake and staring out at the shimmering curtain of water streaming through the center of the Nexus. It was mesmerizing.

  Gradually, he became aware of a muffled sound coming from the suite’s two bedrooms. He sat up, his ears straining to identify it...

  It was Addy. She was crying. He hadn’t dreamed that part. Frowning, Lucien got up from the couch and followed the sound to Addy’s room. He waved the door open, and the sound grew suddenly louder, no longer muffled by the door—then it stopped.

  “Go away,” Addy said.

  “Addy...” He moved to her side of the bed and sat down beside her. “Are you okay?” he asked, placing a hand on her back.

  “No. What do you care?”

  “I care.”

  She sat up, her glowing green eyes—a Faros’ eyes—flashing in the dark. Lucien started at the sight, but forced himself to relax. She’d forgotten to turn off her holoskin. So had he. That was probably wise considering they didn’t know what kind of surveillance systems their suite had. “You chose her over me,” Addy accused. “Did you even give it a second thought?”

  Lucien grimaced. “I haven’t chosen anyone.”

  “You chose to integrate your memories. That’s the same thing.”

  “You’re just assuming that means I chose her.”

  “You’ve been pretty clear so far. You won’t even sleep in the same room with me.”

  Lucien took a breath and shook his head. “It’s complicated.”

  “You said you agreed to integrate because it would give you more reason to fight. More to live for.”

  “Because of my daughters, not necessarily because of my wife,” Lucien explained. “Between you and her, I don’t know who I love more... I have more memories with Tyra, but I have happier ones with you. The problem is I made vows to Tyra, and marriage is supposed to be forever.”

  “Really?” Addy asked. “So why does everyone get divorced, then? Forever is a long time for immortals. Fifty thousand years from now, are you still going to be in love with your wife? Or even me? You probably won’t even remember our names anymore.”

  Lucien considered that with a deepening frown. “People can grow together or apart. It’s a choice you make every day. Marriage really can last forever, but only if both people are actively trying to make that happen. Unfortunately, Tyra never tried very hard. She was more in love with her job than me. I guess I stuck around for the kids.”

  Addy sniffed and wiped her cheeks. “So what are you saying? That your marriage is over?”

  “I’m saying that I’m not pushing you away because I don’t love you. I’m pushing you away because I’m afraid that if I don’t, I’m going to cheat on my wife with you.” He shook his head. “I owe it to both of you to make a decision about my marriage first, and I can’t do that until we get back to Laniakea.”

  “You mean if we get back,” Addy replied.

  “Etherus wouldn’t have sent us on this mission if he thought we were going to fail.”

  “You think he knows the future?” Addy asked.

  “I think he must. Isn’t that part of being an all-mighty, omniscient God?”

  “If he knows the future, then we do live in a deterministic universe, and no one is really free. Think about it: you can’t know the future, unless the future is destined to be, but Etherus said we have souls, and that’s what gives us free will.

  “You can’t have it both ways. We can’t be free and have a god who knows the future. So if he doesn’t know the future, then he doesn’t know that we’re going to win.”

  Lucien nodded slowly. “Good points. Maybe there’s a middle ground somewhere. Maybe he can only predict a likely future, not some pre-determined one.”

  “Then that still means he doesn’t know whether we’re going to fail. Our success isn’t a given.”

  “So let’s make sure we don’t fail,” Lucien replied. He reached out to place a hand on one of Addy’s shoulders, but she grabbed his neck and pulled his lips down to hers for a kiss. He didn’t have time to react until it was over, and by then there was no point in pushing her away.

  “What...” He shook his head. “I thought I explained where I stand?”

  “You did, but you didn’t give me a chance to explain where I stand. Maybe Tyra loved her job more than you, but I’m not her, and you won’t have to settle for runner-up on my list of priorities.”

  Lucien nodded and rose from Addy’s bed. “I’ll keep that in mind. Try to get some sleep. You’ll need your wits about you if you’re going to convince the separatists to help us tomorrow.”

  “I will. Goodnight, Lucien.”

  “Goodnight, Addy,” he replied as he walked out the door.

  Chapter 21

  Aboard the Etherian Ship, Veritus

  —EIGHT HOURS LATER—

  “Why do we have to go away?” Atara asked.

  Tyra bought herself time for an answer by kissing Theola’s cheek and parting the long locks of dark hair hanging in front of Theola’s eyes. She’d be turning two in a couple of months, and she was long overdue for a haircut—just one of the many things that weren’t a priority when their survival was the only thing on Tyra’s mind.

  “Mom...” Atara tugged on Tyra’s councilor’s robes. “Why do we have to—”

  “Because mommy has to go fight bad guys, and you need to stay somewhere safe or I’ll be distracted worrying about you.”

  “You’re going to fight the blue people?” Atara asked.

  Tyra fixed her five-year-old daughter with a measuring look. It was impossible to tell if she really was still possessed by Abaddon. She seemed to be playing the part of an innocent five-year-old well enough—except for her lack of concern over her father’s death and subsequent absence.

  “Yes, the blue people,” Tyra confirmed. “Brak—”

  “I guard them with my life,” Brak said.

  Tyra studied his stalwart expression and nodded. “I know you will.” She kissed Theola one last time and then set her down on the deck of the shuttle. Theola made a scrunchy face and pouted, raising her arms to be picked up again. Tyra smiled wanly and shook her head. “No sweetie, Mommy has to go.” To Brak she added, “Make sure they... behave.”

  He nodded slowly and glanced at Atara.

  Atara caught that look and crossed her arms over her chest. “I always behave!”

  “Of course you do, honey,” Tyra replied, and tousled Atara’s long black hair. She went down on her haunches to look her in the eye. Atara gazed right back, her jaw set and eyes fractionally narrowed.

  “Take care of your sister, okay?”

  The tightness left Atara’s gaze and she nodded grimly, suddenly all grown up.

  Tyra lingered on her haunches a moment longer, waiting for Atara’s innocent facade to crack, but it never did.

  “Good.” She leaned in and kissed Atara on the cheek. “I love you, Atty.”

  Atara wrapped her arms around Ty
ra’s neck and sniffled in her ear. “Don’t go, Mommy. I’m scared.”

  Tyra’s heart ached with those words, but they didn’t quite ring true after Etherus had declared that she was still infected with Abaddon’s mind. Tyra withdrew to an arm’s length and gazed into her daughter’s green eyes once more, searching desperately for some hint of the truth, one way or the other. All she saw was her little girl, a real five-year-old who was genuinely afraid.

  “Be brave, honey. Brak will keep you safe. I promise.”

  Brak grabbed Atty’s shoulder with a giant gray hand and squeezed. “Yes,” he confirmed.

  Tyra stood up and backed away.

  “No...” Atara whined, tears springing to her eyes. She lunged after Tyra, but Brak caught her in one arm and swept her off her feet. She kicked and screamed under his arm. “Don’t go!” Atara screamed, and Theola began to cry.

  Tyra shook her head, her eyes blurring with tears. “I’ll see you both soon.” She blew them a kiss, and with that, she turned and strode back through the shuttle.

  “Mommy!” Atara called after her.

  Tyra steeled herself and shook her head. She had a battle to fight, and her daughters would be safer with Brak than they would be with her.

  She blew out a shaky breathe as she passed through the airlock of the shuttle and down the ramp. Her footsteps clanged echoingly on the metal ramp. Once she reached a safe distance, she turned and watched as the shuttle’s engines ignited with a roar of dazzling blue fire. Heat pulsed out in waves, and dust scattered out from under the ship’s grav lifts. The shuttle lifted a few meters off the deck and rotated on the spot to face the fuzzy blue shields over the opening of the hangar bay.

  For a second, the shuttle lingered there, hovering; then it went screaming out of the hangar with a blast of heat from its engines. The hangar shields hissed and rippled in its wake, and Tyra watched that ship dwindle to a fuzzy speck, tinted blue by the semi-transparent shield.

  Tyra gave a deep sigh. It didn’t feel like she’d just said goodbye to an undercover Faro agent. But as far as she knew, Etherus had never been caught in a lie—just lies of omission, she amended.