Red Nova

Tension in Ascension

Detective Malcolm Renfred sat calmly in an armchair in the lobby of Vignia Corporation. A few workers walked by him in suits and dresses. Some chatted among themselves while others used an elevator portal to reach another floor in the building. Renfred was reading a news magazine named Terra Firma, which gave its readers valuable information about Earth’s market world. After a few minutes, a woman wearing a sequin dress ported to the lobby from an elevator portal and approached him.

“Detective Renfred,” called out the woman.

“Yes?” he responded.

“Mr. Larser will see you now,” she said. “This way.”

Malcolm Renfred followed Vreffith’s secretary to an elevator portal in the corner of the lobby. They ported to the two-hundredth floor and walked through a long hallway. At the end of the corridor lay an office with a few paintings on the walls. In the back of the office was a large window showing Renfred’s UEC flagship—Sucellos—and Khiylos’ binary stars. The secretary led Renfred inside and then left the room. Vreffith, attired in a black business suit, sat behind a desk with a dashing smile. He looked as though nothing had happened to him over the past few days.

“How may I help you, Detective Renfred?” asked Vreffith.

“I’m sorry to bother you, Mr. Larser,” began Renfred, “but I’ve heard a disturbing rumor that you were kidnapped by Admiral Niralus Bisel. Does this sound familiar to you?”

“That’s the strangest news I’ve heard this week, detective,” said Vreffith. “Who told you this?”

“I’m afraid that’s classified,” said Renfred. “So, everything’s all right?”

“I’ve never felt better,” said Vreffith, still smiling.

“I see,” said Renfred. He looked around suspiciously and then added, “Mind if I do a G-DNA scan on you to make sure everything’s all right? I’d like to ensure the UEC with evidence that our treaty hasn’t been compromised.”

“Sure,” said Vreffith. “If I were you, I’d do the same.”

“Yes, well, thank you,” said Renfred.

The detective ported a scanner from his UND and activated it. When he swayed it over Vreffith it signaled red for a second, and then it switched to green.

“Is something wrong, detective?” asked Vreffith.

“No,” said Renfred hesitantly. “You’re definitely you. It’s just—” His UND suddenly vibrated. “Pardon me for just a moment, Mr. Larser.” He stepped out of Vreffith’s office while activating his vidlink. President Richard Weldner appeared on the vidlink screen. “Don’t worry, Mr. President. I’m already here.”

“Excellent,” said President Weldner. “Have you by any chance looked into Vreffith’s whereabouts yet?”

“Yes,” said Renfred. “Everything seems to check out. Howev—”

“Good, then I need you somewhere else,” interjected President Weldner. “Now.”

“What’s the matter?” said Renfred.

“I believe your theory on the AI is more than sound,” he said. “Something unthinkable has happened on two planets, which match the hacking encryptions you showed me. Someone has stolen an extremely valuable relic from Earth in Corselos. But that’s not all. There have been several hacks that keep switching identity codes on Ubieria—near quadrant X. I want you to dispatch your fleet there to investigate this. As for you: I want you to personally report to Earth and find out if there’s an actual thief there who stole the artifact or if the one responsible took the artifact by hacking into the GT.”

“Sir, what if it really was a hack from the GT?” asked Renfred.

“Then, my friend, we have an AI walking around,” said the president. “If the IGF or anyone else find out, we’re in serious trouble. Do you understand?”

“I’ll leave for Earth immediately,” said Renfred. When the vidlink ended, he stepped back into Vreffith’s office. “I’m sorry to have disturbed you, Mr. Larser.”

“Don’t worry about it,” replied Vreffith, smiling with his hands folded. “Believe me, people want to speak with me all the time. It tends to happen when you’re a CEO. I hope all is well, detective.”

“Just a little problem back on Earth,” said Renfred. “Good to know everything’s all right here.”

“Yes,” said Vreffith. “Thank you, detective. And please tell Richard that I’ll see him during the rifting tournament.”

“Okay, take care,” said Renfred.

When the doors closed, Vreffith frowned. He clicked his UND and activated his vidlink. Zoris Kong appeared on the screen.

“Did you intercept the UEC transmission?” asked Vreffith.

“Yeah,” said Zoris. “It seems this AI you told me about has been having a little too much fun on Ubieria. Shall we go there and finish her off?”

“I can’t afford to be gone that long again,” said Vreffith. “I want you to send Creyton’s group to deal with them. As for you, stay cloaked on Heidegger and monitor every ship that leaves the planet.”

“They won’t escape us this time,” said Zoris.

Without responding, Vreffith terminated his vidlink session and gazed at the UEC vessel from the window. He spotted Detective Renfred using a shuttle to return to his flagship. Vreffith considered for a moment how his life would’ve been if he had lived a “normal” life. He thought, what would have happened if he’d played by the rules of humanity? Would he have turned out to be a man like Malcolm Renfred or would he still want to decimate the UEC? And why were there only two options in his mind? He knew, in terms of a moral code, that the members of the Black Moon syndicate were beyond evil. Zoris Kong was no exception; in fact, the only reason why Zoris feared him was because of his uncanny strength, he conceded.

For a moment, Vreffith regretted who he’d become and had a sudden impulse to commit suicide. Humanity could never understand him. They would live out their lives in constant denial, living by the code of morality and always believing there was right and wrong—good and evil. They would label him as a ruthless and psychotic criminal, the way he thought of Zoris. Yes, he thought, in terms of morality Zoris was the evilest of men. Vreffith wanted to escape the notion of being labeled evil. But if he wasn’t evil what would he be labeled as? Holy? Good? No, he didn’t want that either.

Somehow the mere thought of morality infuriated him. And it was his anger that kept him from killing himself. Anger was his comrade. It helped him become focused—to remember his preference.

“Soon enough, you and your wretched species will worship me as your god,” he said, staring hard at Renfred’s vessel. “When you worship me, however, it will not be because I am holy or evil. It’ll be because of your awareness. You will be aware of my authority and ability to grant you death. Murder will no longer be evil. Death will no longer be terrifying. In fact, you’ll actually beg for it.”

Vreffith’s preference was to make humanity suffer, just as they made him suffer. One would call it revenge. Maybe it was as simple as that. But his concept of revenge wasn’t the traditional form of righteous or wretched fury. It had nothing to do with him being good or evil. He didn’t have to choose between two options. Though humanity would choose a label for him and misunderstand his revolutionary mind, he would pursue his preference without a desire to kill himself until he had his revenge.

He closed his eyes and cleared his mind, patiently waiting for the Tenth Fleet survivors to make a move.

On the following morning, Teri walked into her engineering bay, Little Mama’s Shop, and greeted her vel’pheasian friends who were constructing a UHAT since the Malvakarian was almost ready. Upon reaching her studio, Teri peeked inside. Private McKenzie was sleeping on a rainbow couch while Tathagata attempted to treat his leg. Keith and Jolus were also there, eating breakfast.

“Hiya,” said Teri, waving at them. “Zarry and I are headin’ over to quadrant Z, and I need two brawny dudes to help us transfer some medical supplies for Margie.”

“Two brawny dudes, huh?” said Keith.

“That’s right, snippy,” said Teri.

Keith laughed. “Sure, I’ll go.”

“I’ll second that,” said Jolus.

“Shweet,” said Teri. “By the way, where’s Rena?”

“She’s in the second bay helping Shiva upload our current GT into the Malvakarian’s mainframe,” said Jolus.

“So no one can track us?” she asked.

“That’s the plan,” said Keith.

“Flippin’ awesome!”

“Yeah, not too shabby,” said Keith, finishing his breakfast. He stood up to stretch and noticed Private McKenzie’s left thigh, which looked as if it had been bitten by a brown recluse spider. “What the fuck?” he said loudly, wincing. “I didn’t see that before. Is he going to be all right?”

“The poison in the bullet that went into his leg has been causing a form of necrosis,” said Tathagata. “I gave him a sedative, but I won’t be able to treat the wound properly unless we have an Al-Khidr reservoir.”

“Yikes,” said Teri, looking at McKenzie’s wound.

Jolus, eyes widened, also noticed the wound. “We’d better get those medical supplies fast,” he said.

“Alrighty, we have a mission to save him!” said Teri. “Let’s roll out, fellas.”

Jolus stood up and clicked a button on the side of the table that ported leftover food into the kitchen sink. Then several cleaning instruments automatically activated and started washing the dishes.

“Drive safely, dear,” said Tathagata.

“Yes, ma’am!” said Teri, saluting her.

Not a moment later, the trio left the studio.

“So, where are we going again?” asked Keith.

“Med-bay, over in quadrant Z,” said Teri.

“Gotcha,” said Keith, going down the stairs.

“Don’t mind him,” said Jolus. “He can’t remember what he did two minutes ago.”

“Shut up,” said Keith.

Teri giggled while skipping through the engineering bay.

Keith slowed his pace and raised his eyebrows when he saw Teri skip. “Just how old is she?” he asked.

“Apparently older than your grandma, sunny boy,” said Jolus.

“Why did I even ask,” said Keith, rolling his eyes.

Jolus laughed. “Just be lucky she’s not related to Bisel.”

“Right, then I’d really be in trouble,” said Keith.

Upon stepping outside, they noticed it was daylight again. Teri’s pickup truck was parked on the side of her shop. Zar’kara had just finished placing a transferable EP on the bed of the vehicle.

“Is that an isolated EP?” asked Jolus, glancing at the elevator portal.

Teri nodded at him excitedly.

“I heard they can port a user anywhere; that is, if you’re an expert at physics,” added Jolus.

“I sure am, kiddo,” said Teri.

“But aren’t they illegal?” asked Keith.

“Not much less than your AI,” said Zar’kara, grunting.

He snorted and abruptly sniffed Keith who felt as though his small and large intestines had twisted, especially when he felt Zar’kara breathe down his neck. Jolus, by the look on his face, found it amusing to watch. After a few seconds, Zar’kara left Keith alone and stomped to the front passenger seat of Teri’s truck.

“Well, what’re ya two waitin’ for?” said Teri. “Get yer panties in the back!”

“Wait a second,” said Keith, hesitating to get inside. “You’re driving?”

“Yesim!” said Teri, gleaming.

Keith glanced at his comrade, stressed out. Jolus simply shrugged while the truck’s rear door lifted upward.

“Ladies first,” said Jolus.

“Tch, whatever,” said Keith.

As soon as they got into the vehicle, Teri reversed her truck onto quadrant X’s street. She didn’t even wait for the rear door to finish lowering.

“What the hell,” said Keith, almost falling out.

Teri eagerly slammed the electric-propulsion pedal while she shifted her gear stick to drive. Within seconds she was going two hundred miles an hour. Zar’kara didn’t react, he’d grown accustomed to this speed. Keith and Jolus, however, looked like they’d vomit at any moment.

“Can we go a little slower?” mumbled Keith.

Jolus didn’t even try to say anything. Feeling exhilarated, Teri radically veered the wheel left, merging onto Ubieria’s arterial highway. She lifted a lever while going up the entry ramp to the throughway, her truck’s horizontal flange reallocating like a train on a railway junction. The truck safely locked onto the right lane. Teri then accelerated to four hundred miles an hour on the highway. She reached quadrant Y in less than a minute. For a split second Teri heard a police siren.

“Oh man,” she said in a moping tone.

“I told you this would eventually happen,” said Zar’kara grumpily.

“Shucks, it’s daylight too,” she said, pouting. “Everyone’s supposed to be sleeping at this time.”

“Not the IGF,” said Zar’kara.

Teri slowed her vehicle down and merged onto the utility lane on the far right of quadrant Y’s highway. When the truck stopped, Keith and Jolus were able to breathe normally again. Teri waited for the IGF hovercar to approach. However, it turned out to be a hovering motorcycle. As soon as the IGF officer hovered by, he parked beside the truck. Teri clicked a button that made her window disappear. The officer lifted his visor and stared at the front passengers as though he expected them to be in a circus.

“Is this a joke?” asked the officer.

“Sorry, sir,” said Teri. “I promise not to go fast again.”

“This is absurd,” said the officer. “You’re completely underage for driving. I’m taking you and the vel into my custody.” He then noticed Keith and Jolus sitting in the back. His eyes widened, realizing they were wearing UEC armor. “Step out of the vehicle. Now.”

Just then, a fusion beam descended from one of the clouds above and disintegrated the officer and his hovering motorcycle.

“Holy moly!” shouted Teri, returning to the highway and accelerating up to a hundred miles an hour.

“Friends of yours?” asked Zar’kara.

“More like family,” said Keith.

Two Black Moon shuttles were hovering slightly behind them. Marl leaned out from the shuttle that Josephine was piloting and started firing his MP-100 rifle at Teri’s truck. Creyton leaned out from the second shuttle and assisted Marl, using his FG-500. In a matter of seconds, the truck’s open-top cargo bed was filled with holes. Jolus and Keith activated their shields and ported out their guns. Keith used two MP-94 pistols, one in each hand, while Jolus wielded an MP-98 rifle.

“They have the advantage,” said Jolus.

“No shit,” said Keith. “Teri, can you get us to disengage and hover?”

“Sounds fun,” said Teri. “I’ll give it a go!”

Keith shook his head at Teri’s reaction. He felt this was no time for fun. This was another life or death situation. It wasn’t as hopeless as when he used Goliath’s escape pod, but it was bad enough considering that a mere kid was driving the truck while the syndicate attacked. However, there wasn’t any time left to think. Keith snapped back to the present moment when a thermal charge launched from Marl’s gun.

The truck’s roof sizzled off after the thermal charge exploded against it. Not a moment later, Zar’kara dialed into his UND and enveloped the truck with a force field.

“Nice work, Zarry!” said Teri.

Zar’kara growled while porting an AW-452, which was an anti-ward plasma gun. It formed over his claw-like hand and attached to his scales like a parasite. It had vel’pheasian hieroglyphics on its organic framework and lit up with energy while three spheres of plasma shot out from it. When the spheres of plasma reached the shuttles, they formed a triangle and burst. The impact of the plasma deactivated the shuttles’ force fields. Zar’kara removed his AW-452 and then ported out an FG-400.

“Time to kill,” he said.

“I’m right behind you,” said Keith, firing with Zar’kara.

“They’ve got a fucking vel with them!” shouted Marl, taking cover.

“Never mind that, you idiot,” said Josephine. “Just keep them busy while I lock a missile on them!”

Jolus stood up with his MP-98 rifle and fired at Creyton’s shuttle while Teri switched lanes, evading a missile that destroyed a part of the highway.

“Cool, this is like a video game,” said Teri wildly.

“Except game over means we’ll be dead,” retorted Keith, continuing to shoot. “Now stop fooling around and get us the fuck out of here!”

“Whoa, someone’s grouchy ’n it ain’t me,” she said.

Feeling an incredible exhilaration, Teri accelerated another fifty miles an hour. She knew Keith still wasn’t convinced that she was older than his grandmother, but this was her moment to shine and prove to him just how great she could be. Whether she’d be an engineer, physicist, or driver, she was the best of the best. Teri’s new goal became clear—she was going to prove to Keith how skillful she was. Then he can’t possibly deny my awesomeness, she thought.

Zar’kara fired his FG-400 at Josephine’s shuttle, where the hover engines were located. When the fusion beam hit the engines they started to flicker. Marl peered out again and shot at Zar’kara, yet the bullets vaporized upon impacting his force field. Zar’kara hissed at Marl with such a hideous expression that it made him flee back into his shuttle.

Keith and Jolus attempted to take down the second shuttle, but Creyton leaned out of the craft and launched a thermal charge at Jolus, destroying his force field.

“Get down,” said Keith, shooting at Creyton’s vehicle.

The shuttle Keith shot at started to tilt and fall what with its hover engines catching fire. As the vehicle plummeted, Creyton jumped off it and landed onto the pickup truck’s cargo bed. Creyton’s shuttle crashed on the throughway, exploding. Jolus stepped onto the pickup truck’s cargo bed to deal with the invader. Creyton had dropped his gun after landing, so he lunged at Jolus and punched him. Keith tried to get a clear shot at Creyton, but Jolus kept getting in the way.

“Damn it, Jolus,” said Keith, clenching his teeth. He then aimed at Josephine’s shuttle and assisted Zar’kara in taking it down.

Marl no longer shot at the truck since Creyton stood on it. Josephine, however, was still tailing Teri.

“Forget about Creyton,” said Josephine. “Zoris wants them dead at all costs.”

Marl ported his FG-500 and triggered its fusion beam, grazing the pickup truck as Teri, once again, swerved onto another lane.

“Jippers!” said Teri. “That was a close one.”

“Get us out of here!” yelled Keith.

“Hold yer horsies, shimmy!” said Teri.

Not a second later, the truck’s flange disconnected from the road and turned into a rifting jet, allowing the truck to fly. Josephine, meanwhile, launched a missile from her shuttle. It exploded below the truck, which would have been Teri’s demise if she hadn’t released her truck from the highway. Teri swerved her wheel back and forth, sticking her tongue out at the rearview mirror.

“Fly alongside that ship,” said Zar’kara. “I want to greet them personally.”

“Sure thing, bubba.”

Zar’kara lifted his door just as Teri started to fly the vehicle in an upward arc.

“Careful,” said Keith. “They may launch another missile.”

Jolus was choking Creyton along the ledge of the cargo bed. However, the isolated EP module swerved toward them while Teri preformed a U-turn. Jolus had no choice but to release Creyton and step aside in order to avoid the tumbling EP that Zar’kara had placed there. When he turned around, Creyton punched him in the face and sent him down to the edge of the truck. Creyton charged toward Jolus to push him off, but Jolus stood up in time and attempted to lean against the truck’s plating while Creyton choked him.

“They say Ubieria’s the only IGF planet that legalized skydiving,” said Creyton.

“Really?” said Jolus, rasping. “You must be looking forward to it.”

Jolus attempted to strangle Creyton as well while Teri flew her truck alongside the shuttle that Josephine was piloting.

“I’m ready,” said Zar’kara.

Just as Teri balanced her pickup truck, Zar’kara leapt across and gripped the skids of the shuttle. Marl leaned out to shoot him, yet Zar’kara swiped his claw at Marl’s thigh, making him scream in agony while blood gushed from his torn leg. He limped away as Zar’kara climbed up, entering the shuttle.

“Not very smart to attack during daylight,” said Zar’kara, snarling.

Marl lifted his gun to shoot; however, Zar’kara lunged forward and decapitated Marl with his claws. Blood splattered all over the shuttle’s interior while Marl’s body fell to the ground in spasms. Afterwards, a fe’lorian soldier emerged from the pilot chamber and launched a thermal charge at Zar’kara, only destroying his force field.

Zar’kara cackled at the fe’lorian, stomping his way to her. She rolled aside and quickly kicked his snout, making him cackle again. He thought to himself, Rena’s punches were much more painful than the fe’lorian’s kick, which merely tickled him.

“You should’ve trained for another five decades,” said Zar’kara. Stretching his claw, he performed an uppercut and split the fe’lorian’s body in half. He then entered the pilot chamber, gazing at Josephine. “Your turn,” he grumbled.

Keith was still firing at the shuttle and finally pierced its glass. His magnum-pulse bullets went through the shuttle’s windowpane, into Josephine’s face. Zar’kara threw her corpse out and took control of the shuttle. Upon seeing Zar’kara pilot it, Keith gave him a thumbs up. Zar’kara nodded at him, flying alongside Teri.

That instant, Keith turned to assist Jolus who had just finished snapping Creyton’s arm, tossing him off the truck.

“Don’t forget to activate your parachute!” said Jolus.

Creyton wiggled in the air, screaming, and smashed against the highway like a rag doll. Jolus stood high above ground as the truck continued to fly, witnessing Creyton’s body splatter apart. Then both vehicles, controlled by Teri and Zar’kara, descended and connected back onto the Ubierian highway.

“We did it!” said Teri cheerfully.

“Barely,” said Zar’kara, his face appearing on the truck’s vidlink console.

“Aw, it was fun, Zarry,” said Teri.

“Yes,” said Zar’kara. “It was exhilarating to kill again.”

Jolus sighed with relief. He took a seat while Keith patted him on the shoulder, also settling down in the back.

“That was some nifty driving, Teri,” said Keith.

“Nifty shifty,” she said, chuckling.

Teri accelerated the truck with a big smile on her face. The wind embraced her while she rode beside Zar’kara. I did it again, she thought. Teri proved to Keith that she has what it takes to succeed. At first, Keith was utterly frightened that she’d been driving. Now he was calm, and he even complimented her. Teri thought, That’s right, beware of my awesomeness!

Both vehicles continued to zoom forward and eventually exited the highway. They finally reached quadrant Z, where Teri’s medical bay was located.

“We’d better contact the others and tell them what happened,” said Jolus.

Keith nodded, dialing into his UND until he established a vidlink connection with Rena Mar’kett. She appeared on the screen and stared at him, surprised.

“What is it, Keith?” said Rena.

“The syndicate attacked us,” he said.

Rena turned away and looked at Shiva, who was standing next to her. “They’ve found us,” she said.

“Have any comrades been terminated?” asked Shiva.

Giving out a faint sigh, Rena looked back at Keith via vidlink. “Are there any casualties? Is everyone okay?”

“We’re fine, at least for now,” he said.

“Good,” said Rena. “By the way, where are you?”

“We just reached the medical bay,” answered Keith. “Teri needs to get an Al-Khidr for McKenzie.”

“Okay, but hurry up,” said Rena. “We’re running out of time and need to get out of here ASAP.”

“Copy that,” said Keith. He ended his vidlink session just as Teri pulled into the medical station’s driveway. Keith got out of the truck with Jolus beside him and noticed right away that the building was closed. “Great,” he said. “What’re we going to do now?”

“Easy,” said Teri. “Go in!”

She clicked a button on her UND, making the entrance to the station open. Zar’kara lifted the isolated EP out of the pickup truck and carried it into the structure.

“This building is yours?” asked Jolus.

“Yup,” replied Teri. “Isn’t it awesome?”

“Yeah,” said Jolus, “but I’m more impressed that you own so much property.”

Teri giggled and walked into the medical station while she said, “What can I say, I’m a busy gal.”

“Yeap,” said Keith, “she’s definitely older than my grandmother.”

In the meantime, Vreffith slammed his fist against his office desk. “You’re telling me that they killed your entire squad, along with my elite fe’lorian soldiers, without even a graze?”

“Creyton tried to ambush them, but they’re surprisingly working with a vel,” said Zoris.

“I don’t give a damn who they’re working with,” said Vreffith. “How could they take out all those soldiers while driving a truck in Ubieria? It can’t even fly!”

“I wasn’t there,” said Zoris, grimacing.

“I’m losing my patience with you, Zoris,” said Vreffith. He remained silent for a moment and then added, “Listen to me very carefully. Don’t attack them. Just monitor them. If they leave Ubieria, follow them. But do not attack any of them. I want to know whatever it is Shiva and those lackeys of hers are planning.”

“They’re probably trying to avoid the UEC,” said Zoris.

“Good,” said Vreffith, waving his hand. “Then let that be. Just make sure you keep an eye on them.”

“Okay,” said Zoris. “We’ll stay cloaked and—”

Vreffith ended the vidlink and got up from his seat. He looked at the view of his galactic Wall Street and sighed.

“Keep wasting your precious little time, Shiva,” he said, scowling. “The Apeiron will be complete soon enough, and then none of your schemes will matter.”

Back on Ubieria, the lights in the medical station dimmed on, giving Teri and her friends some sight. The enormous chamber lay filled with various machines that were automatically producing surgical instruments and medical androids. There were also numerous crates in the back. Suddenly, a nine-foot-tall vel’pheasian appeared on the second floor’s catwalk. Unable to see who’d just entered, he ported out a PT-80 and pointed it at Keith.

“One more step and I’ll kill you!” exclaimed the vel’pheasian.

Teri walked into the light and said, “Heya, Gahza.”

Gahza, the vel’pheasian on the second floor, waved at her. “Hail, Teri. I didn’t recognize your friends,” he said. Then, as the lights brightened, he noticed Zar’kara and raised his snout high while slamming a fist against his chest. Zar’kara slammed a fist on his chest too, glaring at Gahza with respect.

“The medical androids won’t be ready for another few days, Teri,” said Gahza.

“Oh, that’s all right,” she said. “We just came here to transport the reservoir to our ship.”

“The Al-Khidr?” asked Gahza.

“Yup,” she said.

“It’s in the basement.”

“Thanks, Gahza,” she said.

He nodded at her and walked away. Teri strode through the chamber, leading the way. Keith followed her but had a troubled look on his face.

“Who the hell was that?” he asked.

Zar’kara hissed at him and said, “He’s the chief engineer of this station. He is also my blood brother.”

“I see the resemblance,” said Keith, gulping.

Jolus laughed at him. “What would you like from us, Teri?” he eventually asked.

“Zarry and I will be in the basement setting up the EP so we can port the Al-Khidr into the Malvakarian,” she said. “While we do that, you and spliffy can gather all those crates in the corner and port them down to our level.”

“All right, let’s get started,” said Jolus, shoving his comrade.

“I’m right behind you, Captain,” said Keith, smirking.

Teri gleamed at them. “Such lovely kids.”

“They could’ve fooled me,” said Zar’kara, grumbling. “I would much rather cook them and have a grand feast with my clan.”

“Zarry,” said Teri, chuckling, “that’s terrible!”

“I’m jesting,” said Zar’kara, snorting. “Though I’m sure they would taste good.”

“Oh, I’m sure they would be yummy-yummy in yer tummy,” said Teri, winking at Zar’kara, “but save yer amazin’ appetite for the syndicate.”

She stepped into an elevator portal with Zar’kara who held the weighty EP module he’d brought in from the pickup truck; they then teleported down to the basement. Keith and Jolus, meanwhile, helped each other carry the gray crates to the elevator portal that Teri and Zar’kara had just used.

Keith began, “I’ve been wondering…”

Jolus raised an eyebrow. “About?” he replied.

“How the heck did Rena beat Zar so easily?” asked Keith.

“Bisel made her our commander for a reason.”

“I guess so,” said Keith.

Jolus rubbed his chin while muttering, “Unless…”

“Unless what?”

“Hmmm,” uttered Jolus. “Unless she’s secretly that special Vortex girlfriend of yours,” he added, guffawing.

“You’re retarded,” said Keith with a sigh. He lifted up another crate, straining. “These are heavy as hell.”

“At least there aren’t many of them,” said Jolus, assisting him.

“I wonder what’s inside these damn things,” said Keith.

“Distilled khlium,” said Gahza.

Keith and Jolus felt a spine-tingling sensation when the other vel’pheasian came out from the corner.

“It’s used for purifying the Al-Khidr,” added Gahza.

“What exactly is that anyway?” asked Jolus.

Gahza grabbed the last two crates and said, “You’ll see for yourself.” He stacked all the crates together in the elevator portal and ported them to the basement, where Teri and Zar’kara were. “Let’s go,” he growled.

The duo looked at each other hesitantly but still entered the EP and teleported with Gahza into the lower medical level. The trio stepped out as soon as they materialized and walked to the Al-Khidr, a massive structure that resembled an ancient Greek temple. Its framework was made of titanium. It also had several columns. Each of those columns served as reservoirs, feeding liquid chemicals into the Al-Khidr’s interior, which was an artificial wilderness that had a waterfall cascading down into a pond. What appeared to be water ended up being a clear fluid of radiating chemicals: khlium. Keith stared at it in awe.

“It’s like a fountain of youth,” said Jolus.

“You’re a slick thinker,” said Teri, approaching Jolus. “It was actually named after a mythical character in one of our old religions. It’s said that he was the only one who found the fountain.”

“Teri, you’re either a genius or the strangest person I’ve ever met,” said Keith, touching the Al-Khidr’s casing.

“Why, tank ya,” said Teri, blushing. “I pride myself with both!”

Jolus looked at Teri and asked, “What’s next?”

“After I enter the coordinates, Zarry and Gahza are gonna help me port this bad boy into the Malvakarian; then Bryan should be as good as new!” She activated her UND and established a vidlink connection with Rena Mar’kett. “Hi, Rena!”

“Hi, Teri,” responded Rena. “I was just about to contact you. Are my soldiers behaving themselves?”

“For now,” she said, winking.

“Great,” said Rena, smiling. “Oh, did you need me for something?”

“Yup,” said Teri. “Are you still inside the Malvakarian?”

“Yeah, we just finished uploading Shiva’s GT,” said Rena. “Will you be back here soon?”

Teri nodded. “We just need to port the Al-Khidr into the ship and we’re good to go,” she said. “I know this sounds crazy, but that’s where you come in. I was wonderin’ if you could switch the ship’s EP to frequency UB084-EP-91. It’s a blank port we have. I can use it to transfer this baby over there in a cinch.”

“Okay, give me a minute,” said Rena. She walked through one of the starship’s corridors, entered the pilot chamber, and flipped a switch by the ship’s mainframe. She then dialed the frequency code Teri had given her into the ship’s mainframe. “All right,” she said. “You’re all set, Teri.”

“You’re the best, Rena,” said Teri. “See you in a bit.” She ended the vidlink and waved at the vel’pheasian brothers. “It’s good to go!”

Zar’kara activated the isolated EP module and within a few seconds the entire Al-Khidr was enveloped in a pulsating aura. It then vanished, teleporting into the Malvakarian’s medical wing.

“So, is that it?” asked Keith.

Teri turned to him but didn’t answer. For the first time in several decades, she looked serious.

“Is everything all right?” inquired Jolus.

“Well,” began Teri, “I hope you guys don’t mind my asking, but could you come with me and Zarry to do one more thing? It’s really important to me. Then we can go back, I swear.”

“No problem,” said Jolus. “You’re the one who’s helping us out.”

“Shweet,” she said. “Give me five.”

Jolus gave her a low five.

“Woohoo!” she exclaimed. “I don’t care what Rena says about you. You’re totally cool in my book.”

Teri skipped over to Zar’kara while Jolus wore a puzzled look on his face.

“What did the commander say about me?” asked Jolus.

Keith patted him on the back and said, “It’s called a joke, dumbass.”

They followed Teri back to her truck. Gahza got onto the truck’s cargo bed and slumped down. The others sat in the same seats as before. This time, Teri didn’t drive two hundred miles an hour, which made Keith happy. Ubieria’s star began to set while Teri drove on the highway. The sky had an orange-red tinge, similar to Earth’s sky.

Teri eventually reached Ubieria’s cemetery—located in quadrant N—and parked in its carport. She got out of her pickup truck without uttering a word and walked past myriad graves. Each gravestone had its own miniaturized computer, containing a detailed biography about the person’s life.

“Why are we here?” inquired Keith.

“Family,” said Zar’kara.

“I see,” said Keith quietly.

He exited the truck and followed her. Jolus sighed, got out of the truck, and also followed her. Upon reaching Teri, they found her sitting by one of the graves. Next to the gravestone stood a sculpture of a man and dog that looked up at the stars. Keith approached it and observed its epitaph, which read:

Quadrant N will always hold a special place in our hearts. It is not only the center of our colony but a sanctuary. We, the citizens of Ubieria, dedicate Quadrant N—the center of our hearts—to those whom we have loved and lost. They will always dwell within our hearts. And they will always be the essence of our souls. May our ancestors always be remembered, unifying the whole of Ubieria, just as they have unified us with life.

~ William Breuget, 2549

“Hey, man,” said Jolus, “it looks like that might be someone important to her. Let’s give her some privacy.”

Keith nodded and started to leave with Jolus. As they left, however, Teri spoke to them.

“This is my brother’s grave,” she said. “His name was William. I never had the chance to know him, but I learned that he founded Ubieria’s colony. I decided to live out my life here and watch over his family.” Teri rested her hand on the gravestone and whispered, “I’ll come back. I promise.”

Jolus looked at Teri, confused. “But it says this was written in 2549,” he said.

“That’s right,” she said, standing up. “Just like Liagon, I was a UEC experiment—a failed one. Still, I got some neat abilities that other humans don’t have. I imagine that’s why Shiva wants me to help her find the one who can stop Liagon.”

“So, we’re looking for someone, not something?” asked Keith.

Teri nodded. “Shiva didn’t tell us, but I reckon it has to be Nirally’s daughter,” she said, slapping Keith’s butt while passing by him. “Tanks for coming here with me. I just wanted to say goodbye to William before leaving. Let’s get back to the others.”

Just then, a dark byzantium-colored spacecraft arrived from high above and slowly descended. It didn’t, however, land in the graveyard since there weren’t any landing zones. Instead, it continued to hover.

“Check it out, boys,” said Teri, pointing at the starship. “It’s my beautiful baby: the Malvakarian!”

The vessel was much bigger than Keith and Jolus had imagined. Each side of the craft had two wings, which resembled enormous talons. And its body had an upper and lower deck. When the ship halted in midair, Teri’s UND vibrated. She clicked her UND and established a vidlink connection with Rena Mar’kett.

“Visiting your brother?” asked Rena.

“Yup, but we’re all set,” said Teri.

“Okay,” said Rena. “I’ll open the rear hatch so you can glide your truck into the shuttle bay.”

“Okie dokie,” said Teri.

Keith, still gazing at the starship in awe, said, “I have to admit, this ship looks pretty badass.”

Jolus nodded at him.

“By the way,” added Keith, slack-jawed, “did Teri just mention that our only hope is Bisel’s daughter?”

“So you’ve got a memory after all,” said Jolus, grinning. “Don’t look so sad. Maybe she’s a hot chick.”

“Hmmm,” uttered Keith, rubbing his chin. “That would be interesting.”

“Come on, ya slow pokes!” said Teri, waving at them from the truck.

The duo returned to the truck, at which point Teri disconnected its flange from the road’s platform. She then flew her vehicle into the ship’s docking bay, located in the lower deck.

“Alrighty, I’ll be in engineering if anyone needs me,” said Teri.

She exited her truck and walked up a ramp that led into the ship’s engine chamber. In the meantime, Keith and Jolus stared at the starship’s interior, which resembled a moist cave except it had wires integrated in the gooey walls. The wires glowed purple, resembling plant roots. And underneath the floor’s gooey insulation were more wires, pulsating in a humming tone.

“It’s a hybrid,” said Zar’kara. “Make yourselves at home.”

“Thanks,” muttered Keith, slightly pale.

Zar’kara stepped into an EP and ported to the pilot room to fly the starship. Keith and Jolus remained in the shuttle bay. Gahza stood there for a moment, staring at them. He hissed and then left, porting to the residential wing.

“Creepy looking ship,” said Jolus.

“You ain’t kidding,” said Keith.

“This is the first time I’ve ever been inside a vel’pheasian ship,” said Jolus.

“Same here,” said Keith. “I highly doubt others get to see one of these things. At least without being a prisoner.”

Jolus laughed. “Yeah,” he said, touching the slimy wall. “I wonder if the entire ship looks like this.”

“Probably,” said Keith. “So, what are you going to do now?”

“Well, I think I’m going to treat myself to a tour around this ship that they seem to think is a hybrid,” said Jolus.

“You’re what?” said Keith in disbelief.

“I can’t help it, man,” said Jolus. “I’ve never seen anything like this. And it seems we’re going to be on board for a long time. I might as well explore it, except for the brig…if they even have one. I’ll also see how McKenzie’s doing.”

“Sounds reasonable,” said Keith. “I’ll find my way around to the Al-Khidr after I learn what Shiva and Rena are planning.”

“Okay,” said Jolus coolly. “Later, man.”

“Later.”

Jolus used an elevator portal to port into the residential wing. Keith, meanwhile, decided to take an alternative route. He felt funny about using an elevator portal in a vel’pheasian vessel, so he wanted to travel the old-fashioned way, at least until he’d get used to being on the ship—if that was even possible.

Going up the same ramp Teri had used, he entered the engine chamber. He noticed Teri wink at him while fiddling with her tools and winked back. Upon exiting the chamber, he climbed up a ladder and then walked onto a catwalk leading to the pilot room where Rena and Zar’kara were stationed.

He kept observing the interior. A nasty sensation, however, made him shiver when he looked ahead. Keith felt like a centipede had crawled up his spine. In front of him stood three vel’pheasians; they were hunched, baring their fangs. The first vel’pheasian had ivory scales, white tusks, and orange eyes. It snorted at Keith, walking by him. The second was somewhat feminine looking with purple scales and pinkish eyes. Even though she didn’t have tusks she nevertheless appeared ferocious and ignored Keith while he passed by her.

The third vel’pheasian looked very different. Its scales and tusks were entirely black, and its eyes were as crimson as the blood of humans. It attempted to straighten up and then slammed one of its claw-like hands on its chest while raising its head high. Keith was ready to port out an MP-98 rifle and shoot it but then realized that the vel’pheasian had actually greeted him. Keith halted and nodded at the black-scaled vel’pheasian.

“For the Yak-Shur,” he said, saluting the beast.

The blood-eyed vel’pheasian cackled, patting Keith on the back. It then walked away from Keith and joined its comrades. Keith heard the others cackling. It was as though the trio were amused by intimidating him. He couldn’t help sigh, wiping away the sweat on his face. He continued walking through the dim catwalk and finally entered the pilot chamber.

Keith thought to himself, the chamber was surprisingly small. It only had two chairs, which were occupied by Zar’kara and Rena. Zar’kara was steering the vessel while Rena kept her eyes peeled on the console’s scanner.

“Where’s Shiva?” asked Keith.

“She’s in the laboratory wing getting some maintenance,” said Rena. “Liagon hit her pretty bad. I’m surprised she’s even functional.”

“Android bodies are made to last,” said Keith.

Rena sulked. “Not against someone like Liagon.”

“Sounds like he’s unstoppable,” said Keith.

“He practically is,” said Rena, flipping a few switches.

“So, why the rush?” he asked. “And where are we going?”

“Shiva detected the Seventh Fleet orbiting Ubieria,” she replied. “You know what that means, right?”

“Malcolm Renfred’s looking for us?”

“That’s right,” she said, carefully observing all the sensors. “Or at least those assigned to him are. There was even a newscast about the IGF working with him to create a blockade around the planet and check vessels that are leaving. Lucky for us, they’re not interested in vel’pheasian ships.”

“Shiva’s definitely got us covered,” he said.

“That she does,” said Rena.

“Well,” continued Keith, leaning his body against the wall while crossing his arms, “I suppose things are finally beginning to look a little brighter for us, wouldn’t you say?”

“I’d say so,” she said calmly. “But it still bothers me that Shiva hasn’t told us about her plan of Sequence Two, or whatever it’s called.”

“I imagine you at least know where we have to go, right?”

Rena glanced at Keith as though he was stupid. “Zar and I wouldn’t be flying if we didn’t know otherwise,” she said. “We’ll be using the Casimir that’s orbiting Ubieria to reach the Solar System.”

“So, we’re traveling to Earth?”

“Yes, that’s what Shiva wants,” she said. “Though I’m afraid I don’t know more than that. Now, I have a lot to do, Keith. Why don’t you get some rest over in the residential wing? It’s going to be a day or two before we reach Corselos.”

“Corselos?” he said, intrigued. “Isn’t that where Bisel grew up?”

“Yes,” she said glumly.

“Okay, okay...geez,” he said, waving his hands. “Well, have fun with Zar.”

Rena rolled her eyes as he exited the chamber. Zar’kara glanced at her with a ferocious grin, baring his fangs. He then snorted, continuing to maneuver the ship skyward.

In the meantime, Zoris Kong was aboard Heidegger, sitting in his chair. He eventually saw the Malvakarian fly out of Ubieria’s orbit and grinned. Zoris knew that Shiva and her crew were being helped by vel’pheasians and that no other starship would be able to leave. Glaring at the starship, he looked down at his crew.

“Helmsman,” called out Zoris, “follow that vel ship.”

“Yes, boss,” said the helmsman.

“And don’t forget to keep us cloaked,” said Zoris. “We don’t want anyone to pick us up with their sensors.”

“I won’t go faster than 10K,” said the helmsman.

“Perfect,” said Zoris.

Heidegger remained motionless. The helmsman patiently waited for the Malvakarian to approach so he could follow it.

“Your time is running out,” said Zoris, frowning.

The Malvakarian left Ubieria’s orbit, flying away from the UEC blockade while making its way to the IGF spaceport, which also had a Casimir station.

Admiral Bisel’s fleet had been utterly destroyed. And those who were lucky enough to survive the syndicate’s attack somehow found a way to escape what should have been certain death. By following Shiva, who Admiral Bisel had entrusted the mission to, they were able to leave the Gamut galaxy and reach Ubieria. They finally had hope on their side. Shiva understood why Liagon hadn’t been killed in the distant past and why he couldn’t be killed by a black hole. It seemed as though Liagon was invincible, but Shiva had discovered his weakness. There was hope for the survivors of the Tenth Fleet—hope for the UEC and all species—but first they had to reach Earth before Liagon could figure out Shiva’s plan.