“I want those transports gone. Fire a volley of warning shots off their bows on my mark.”

  “Ready,” Hiro said.

  Ham sighed. He felt a strange exhilaration in the moment but thought Michael had the good sense to retreat from this absurdity. Did he not expect live fire? Was he still in War Games mode? Perhaps that was the problem: He refused to lose twice in a week.

  “Fire warning shots, Hiro.”

  Ham waited a beat.

  “Any response?”

  “Transports are slowing to a crawl,” Paul said.

  “The Scramjets?”

  “Matching speed.”

  “Warn them off as well, Hiro. Full volley.”

  Ham felt a shadow to his left and turned. Michael arrived, as if out of thin air, hands on hips. His irises glowed like red dwarf stars.

  “We should talk, Captain. What do you say?”

  “Of course, Minister. Is there a problem?”

  Michael waved to the others.

  “Why don’t you folks go enjoy the fun? Ham and I got some bureaucratic shit to sort through. Be back in a flash.”

  So, this is how you want to play it? OK.

  Ham put on his best face and reinforced Michael’s suggestion. The Minister took him behind booths of street food, jewelry, and liquors to a storage facility for rifters and agricultural equipment.

  When they were alone, Michael’s good-guy demeanor vanished.

  “You blew it, Ham. Push comes to shove, and you blew it.”

  “How so, Michael?”

  “You proved you can’t be trusted.”

  “Why?”

  “You laid a trap for us. You fired on our ships.”

  “Warning shots. They attempted to board without permission. You promised a patrol to look after Scylla, not to confiscate her.”

  “You have weapons lock on Lioness and our platforms.”

  “Order your ships to retreat, and the matter is resolved.”

  “That’s too easy, and you know it. We crossed a red line.”

  “Perhaps not.”

  “I can make Scylla stand down, Ham. I have nine bargaining chips with no damn way off this planet.”

  “True. And I have six loyal soldiers who know what they might have to sacrifice to protect their ship. One word, and I end the heartbeat of your navy. Stop this now, Michael.”

  The Minister did a poor job hiding the agony of another defeat.

  Paul said, “They’re breaking off, Captain. Scramjets have opened apertures. They’re gone. Transports in retreat. And … apertures open. They’re gone.”

  “Good, Paul. Bring Scylla to a halt. Hiro, stand down.”

  Michael sniffed, as if he was itching for a fight.

  “What now?”

  Ham responded, but not to Michael.

  “The crisis has passed. Crew, enjoy your night. Those people in the streets are your friends. I’m going to disconnect for a few moments. I’ll catch up soon.”

  Ham tapped his ear bead.

  “Now we’re truly alone, Michael.”

  “They heard everything?”

  “My crew? Yes. They took an enormous risk to follow me here tonight. We hoped we were wrong about your intentions.”

  “I had to do it. You lied to me, Ham.”

  “About the other warships? You don’t believe I’ll destroy Charybdis and Hermes, so you decided to add some insurance. We signed an agreement, Michael. I intend to fulfill my obligation.”

  “That agreement don’t mean shit anymore, does it?”

  “Actually, I think it’s stronger now, in an unexpected way. We’ve revealed all our cards. The very item that might cause dissention down the road will be a source of amicable discussion.”

  “Too many people know what went down tonight.”

  “I disagree. I believe you involved no more than ten Aeternans in your operation. Admiral Kane, his command staff, the one Colonel not present at the signing ceremony, and the four captains. I doubt anyone else on those transports knew the scope of it. After your miscalculation in the War Games, you didn’t want to risk a high-profile failure. I’m sure you and Kane will provide a cover story.”

  Michael’s red Occip glow disappeared.

  “What about your crew? They won’t ever trust me.”

  “Nor should they. They will, however, fulfill their obligations. My crew is my family. We began with a mission of great importance. We intend to see it through. If I may be blunt, Michael. My crew realizes who and what you are. You are a soldier. You are a loving father and husband. You will do anything to protect your people.

  “You are also a poor general, and you have unleashed death upon untold millions. We will not do anything to crack the glorious image you have crafted for the Aeternans, so long as you work with us in good faith. When our mission ends, we will say our goodbyes.”

  Michael looked away. Win or lose, he had expected the new alliance to end as soon as it began. Ham enjoyed watching him contemplate a different course.

  “You wanna bury the hatchet?”

  “I’m not sure what a hatchet is, Michael, or why I’d bury it. But I am willing to move past this misunderstanding. I don’t believe you’re a malicious man at heart. I believe you’re terrified all this will collapse one day, and you’ll be blamed. You act out of fear and desperation, hidden behind this godlike artifice you’ve constructed.”

  “You’re a fucking shrink now?”

  “I have a theory about Aldo’s research. Yes, you were testing us to see how we’d react if given access. At some level, though, you didn’t mind if we became the conduit by which the cure for Chancellor gene collapse made its way to Earth. You’d never do it on your own.”

  “I was testing you and Aldo both. I knew he’d betray me.”

  “He proved you lied to us. We only agreed to forward the cure if our analysis showed potential. The rest of his work? We leave to your judgment, although Aldo feels horribly betrayed.”

  “His data was too important. I can’t just hand over our secrets.”

  “But you can poison him?”

  Michael did a double-take.

  “Poison? What the hell are you …”

  “We found the Chancellor drug Hexadramiquine in his blood. It’s the reason for his collapse. It’s …”

  “What? You’re out of your mind. We haven’t been poisoning the old man. Shit. We’ve been keeping him alive.”

  “It’s a strange choice to include Hexa …”

  “He drank the water in Lake Profundus. It’s the liquid matrix the Jewels used to terraform Aeterna. The crazy old bastard was so desperate to find the source code he …”

  Michael steamed. Ham thought he might throw a punch.

  “Without that man, I never would’ve made it here to save Sam. You think I’d poison him? After all he’s done for me?”

  “Explain the Hexadamn.”

  “Never heard of it. Look, Salvation stole all kinds of shit from the Chancellors during their raids. They kept Chancellor slaves in their fleet. When I took over, we inventoried what we had and kept it in case we ever needed it. Doc Ranke designed Aldo’s meds. If I wanted him dead, his ass would’ve been buried years ago.”

  Ham relaxed.

  “Hmm. That actually sounds plausible. You see, Michael? Another misunderstanding resolved. Cards turned over. If we’re going to be effective allies, we should learn from these moments. Yes?”

  Michael wasn’t listening.

  He looked away and froze. His lips moved to “what?”

  The irises glowed red.

  “Fuck me.” He turned to Ham. “What have you …? No. Can’t be.”

  “Michael, what is …?”

  The Minister ran, and Ham followed.

  Michael burst out onto the main avenue, talking rapid-fire to no one in particular. The music stopped, replaced by klaxons blaring across the city.

  The revelry died, and every immortal iris glowed in shades from dark red to noon yellow. Ham watched a city jump into action. The Aeternans scattered but said little as they did so.

  Ham looked down the avenue and saw his crew equally stunned by the sudden turn. He caught up to Michael, who seemed panicked.

  “How much time? Do you have a destination lock?”

  “Michael, what is happening?”

  “Shit.” His side-glare suggested he wanted to blame Ham for this, too, but he didn’t have the evidence. “Unauthorized ship approaching inside worm. We got less than thirty seconds.”

  Michael had bragged about their ability to track all entry into the star system, including through a wormhole. Ham didn’t buy it; he’d have to see it in action.

  “Yes?” Michael said to no one. “Southern brigade, go. Turrets open.”

  Gun platforms sprouted from the roofs of the loaf-shaped buildings. Spotlights cast narrow beams into the sky, crisscrossing each other.

  Michael yelled, “Fifteen seconds,” before sprinting along with dozens of other immortals down the avenue. He pushed through the stunned Scylla crew and followed his people left down a narrow street past Promise Central Command.

  “I don’t know,” Ham said as he followed along with his crew. “He said something is approaching through worm.”

  Ham made sense of it in the final seconds. Most ships landed in a clearing south of Central Command – including his Scramjet from Scylla. Somehow, Aeternan technology had mapped the wormhole to its plotted conclusion. When Ham arrived on the scene, dozens of immortals with blast rifles converged on the landing zone. Ham wasn’t sure which technology he thought more remarkable: The wormhole detector or Occip, which galvanized an entire population in a flash.

  An aperture brought the usual lightshow and thunder. Blast rifles aimed with military efficiency. A Scramjet hovered above the zone. Michael pushed through his people, and Ham kept up.

  “No, you’re wrong,” Michael said to no one. “That’s not possible. Check again. Be sure.”

  “What’s happening, Michael? Talk to me.”

  The Scramjet hovered, as if waiting for permission to land.

  “It’s one of ours.”

  “I thought you said it was unauthorized.”

  “We lost it years ago.”

  “It knew where to land. Who’s inside, Michael?”

  He didn’t answer.

  The Scramjet descended, and the Aeternans closed ranks. When it settled on the grassy surface, the Carbedyne nacelles shut down, and the vehicle’s hum diminished. A single spotlight captured the starboard bulwark in its grasp.

  The egress pixelated. The occupant raised an arm to shade his eyes then jumped out. The phalanx of blast rifles tightened.

  “Of course it is,” Ham muttered.

  Michael walked through his soldiers until he stood eye to eye with the new arrival. Ham couldn’t imagine what was going through their minds. Michael must have given a new order through Occip, for the soldiers lowered their weapons.

  Ham wasn’t about to miss it.

  The newcomer dropped his guard and lent a generous smile.

  “You trained them well, Michael. I expected no less.”

  The man behind the Splinter Alliance reached out a hand, but Michael did not take it.

  “Why did you return, Valentin?”

  “I wanted to keep our people out of it. I tried, but everything has changed. Michael, I need your help.”

  Amayas Knight looked over Michael’s shoulder.

  “Hello, Capt. Cortez. I wasn’t sure I’d ever meet you in person. The future is so uncertain.”

  PART TWO

  ALPHA AND BETA

  “A case can be made that the man known as the Inventor actually invented nothing. He was, by most accounts, a fine salesman, but he built his scheme based on prizes which he blindly stumbled upon. Many great advances in commerce and interstellar travel were attributed to the Inventor, but so was the calamity that befell several worlds during the turmoil of SY 5367 and 5368.

  “His advocates claim he was proof of the Great Mover Theory, which says a single human can shift the balance of history across hundreds of light-years. His critics say he was a tormented creature whose messianic ambitions illustrate the danger of humans exceeding their grasp.”

  -Dr. Simone Herod

  “Lessons from the War of the Nine”

  16

  A MAYAS LOOKED FOR A WAY to keep his fellow immortals out of the looming war. Sitting in orbit above Hokkaido, he plotted a wormhole course to the landing zone at Promise Central Command, where he stole this Scramjet eight years ago. Amayas found the prospect of completing a full circle both exciting and terrifying. The nav circle awaited his command to catalyze the wormhole drivers. Amayas froze.

  Every minute mattered. The trip to Aeterna would eat up twenty-one. He needed to go. Now.

  He searched for alternatives and opened his private channel to The Hold. He’d wait seven precious minutes for it to reach Shin Wain’s plate. Better than nothing; contact wasn’t possible during worm travel. Yet this might not work either. What if his timing was off? What if he caught Shin during a sleep cycle?

  While he waited, Amayas contacted Hermes C&C. Mehta Jarrod, his Splinter Vanguard Colonel, responded.

  “Mehta, report. Any change with the Swarm ships?”

  “Still hovering above the city. They have fired on two targets.”

  “Position a complement of Bluebird drones in low orbit above the island. Focus on those vessels. Learn as much as you can but do not engage them unless they see you and take aggressive action.”

  “We’ll learn everything we can. When will you return?”

  “A few hours at most. I hope. I’ll bring help.”

  Without the mirrors, Amayas found no clarity. He did not see this scenario during his last visit inside the crystalline forest.

  Did running across the galaxy make him a coward? Why not command Hermes to aim its weapons array at the Swarm fleet and annihilate with swift efficiency? Logic told him it would work, but the collateral damage might devastate Pinchon. Debris had to fall somewhere. Worse, if even one of those missiles failed to hit its target, a huge swathe of the city would burn.

  How dare he risk it after working so hard to reassure the Hokkis about their need for the Splinter Alliance.

  To his great relief, Shin responded from The Hold.

  “Amayas, I’m so pleased to hear from you. We have a prob …”

  “Shin, listen to me. The Swarm are here. I don’t know their intentions. They may be a scout mission or a vanguard. We need to establish a wall and push them back. I want you to assemble everyone onboard Charybdis and make ready for …”

  Shin shouted over him.

  “Amayas. Please. I know what’s happened. I was trying to tell you. We have a problem here. Royal returned.”

  “Royal?”

  “He tethered back an hour ago. He knows what the Swarm are doing. He admits he had a role in it but says he couldn’t stop it.”

  “Where is he now?”

  “Planning a return to Beta, if he has his way. He says he has a plan to end the Swarm threat before it grows. I’m trying to stop him before he makes it worse.”

  “Call him in now.”

  “No fucking need.” Royal pushed Shin out of the way. His golden armor sheltered him neck down. “I got this covered, Amayas. I just need two of my men and …”

  “They aren’t your men,” Shin said. “You abandoned them.”

  “You’re pushing your damn luck, Shin. I’m gonna kill you sooner or later, right? You want it to be now?”

  “Royal, calm down,” Amayas said. “I’d ask you to explain what happened after you disobeyed my orders, but we don’t have time. What is your plan?”

  “I made a promise. I got a bunch of kids to save. I know how to do it and cut the head off the Swarm at the same time. I’m not asking for much. Two SVs, and I’ll have enough firepower.”

  “To do what?”

  “I’m going after the Swarm Empress. I can take her clean. Those assholes will hand over whatever I want.”

  “Which is?”

  “A family. Real important one, too. You know their father.”

  Amayas felt a cold shiver.

  “I do?”

  “Bonju Taron. Swarm grabbed his family and forced him to take their ships across the divide. I’m guessing they made it.”

  “Royal, are you saying Bonju is here?”

  “Where are you now?”

  “Hokkaido. Three ships are hovering above Pinchon.”

  “Cudfrucker. I knew it would be Hokkaido … but Pinchon? They don’t have a city named that in the Beta version. What were the odds? Wait a minute. You’re in Pinchon now?”

  “I was. I’m in orbit with Hermes.”

  Royal said something Amayas never expected.

  “Don’t fire on them. Please. I don’t much care about Bonju, but his oldest boy Moon is there, too. I promised Moon I’d save him and the other kids. I owe them, and I’m not backing out. Don’t fire.”

  Did Amayas hear compassion and tenderness in Royal’s tone? This from someone who bashed a man’s head in to make a point to his own troops?

  “I need answers, Royal. Can those ships tether?”

  “Hard to say. I might have helped them out a bit by accident. If they hang around much longer, they’re probably stranded.”

  “If they see no way out of a fight, they’ll be ruthless.”

  “Swarm don’t surrender. If the tether works, that’ll give you time until I solve this shit on the other side. All I need is two SVs, and I’m gone, Amayas.”

  “How do you know this will work?”

  “I studied the mirrors when I returned. I was careful this time. I have one target in a stationary position. Sooner I go, the better.”

  “Shin?”

  The Hokki returned.

  “Yes, Amayas.”

  “Spare Royal two men. The rest of you, prep Charybdis. Royal, if the Swarm can tether, today is just the beginning.”

  “Pretty much.”

  “If they don’t tether, we’ll have to destroy them. I’ll give you as much time as I can, but we’re talking hours, not days.”

  “Don’t you worry, Inventor. We’re gonna come up aces. You watch.”