“These were the burn pits, Empress. At their peak, the Swarm ran twelve for Sanghoo alone. We’d shut them down, retreat, and they’d fire up again. We killed thousands of your FGs, but they killed millions of Hokkis. After a while, we smelled like burned flesh. We even got used to it. It was in the food and the water. It was our whole life.”

  He grabbed her arm and led her forward, though she resisted.

  “You ever walked on ash before? Ever wondered how many people have to burn for this to happen?”

  “Take your hand off me.” When he complied, she wagged a dismissive finger. “You brought me here to see the consequences of our crusade. You want me to wear the burden of guilt like a noose. Phhh. And I thought you were clever.”

  “You’re wrong, old woman. I knew you wouldn’t feel a damn thing for what happened here. I didn’t expect to see tears. And I’m not here to speak for the dead. I’m not that important.”

  “Then why?”

  “I wanted you to smell it. It was stronger when the pits were running, but it’s still here. It’s the smell of truth.”

  “What truth?”

  “The one that says everything you people did amounts to shit.” He pushed her to the ground and bent down beside her. “You did it for a God that ain’t real. But here’s the best part: No one’s gonna remember. Soon these fields will be gone. Hokkaido. The other planets you brutalized. The stars.” He pointed up. “No God, no light, no future.”

  “You’re mad.”

  “That don’t begin to describe it. Look, Empress, your friends will be here any minute. I’m gonna leave you with a little parting gift. First, a blessing. You Church fucks love to count your blessings. So, here it is: You won’t be around to see how it ends. The next Empress will be screaming and begging when reality collapses.”

  He grabbed Chastain’s wilted face and stared into shrunken eyes.

  “Your Church says the blessed see God at the moment they pass. Look close, Chastain. See God.”

  Her chest heaved, her eyes staring into the inevitable.

  Royal drove the blade deeper.

  “There’s nothing after me but the abyss.” He held for the final move. “You won’t like what you find.”

  She forced out one word amid a desperate grasp for air.

  “Cunt.”

  “No, Empress. I’m God.”

  He twisted the knife and watched her die.

  Royal held the old woman, hoping to feel some measure of satisfaction. When it didn’t come, he finished his work.

  Moments later, he returned to the shuttle and banged on the egress. He holstered his blade and jumped onboard.

  The Tarons greeted him with a mix of curiosity and anticipation. He forced a smile.

  “What do you say?” He told the kids. “Want to find your dad and your brother?”

  Nods, cheers, and applause filled the cabin.

  “Lucian, what’s our status?”

  “Coordinates set. The Splinter is ready to take us home.”

  “Trigger the engines. Book, everything OK aft?”

  “We’re good if anyone needs to do business. What of the Empress?”

  “She saw what she always wanted. Her people won’t agree.”

  The shuttle launched.

  “Three apertures opening ten kilometers behind us,” Book said.

  “That’s our cue. I’m done with this fucking universe.”

  “Drivers are spinning up. They’ll engage in fifteen seconds.”

  Royal took a seat across from Dyna Taron. He crossed his legs.

  “Not a problem. They won’t pay attention to us.”

  He left Empress Chastain IV’s comm flashing on her chest.

  When the aperture opened, Royal closed his eyes. He felt nothing. Where was the expected joy and satisfaction?

  22

  Battle cruiser Ajax

  Pinchon

  B ONJU MADE THE ADJUSTMENTS to the tether program with five minutes to spare. He didn’t know whether it would work. If it did, he betrayed his son. If it didn’t, at least he had given Royal another twenty-five minutes. Or did he? The time disparity between Alpha and Beta universes was a conundrum he never solved. He wouldn’t have a true sense of it unless he returned home.

  “I’ll run a simulation,” he told Lt. Stafford. “Inform Capt. Chinois he can stop his ridiculous countdown.”

  Stafford proved open-minded, even fascinated by the program. In another lifetime, the man might have made a good assistant.

  “Captain,” the Chief of the Nav said. “We’ve adjusted the code. We’ll throw it into a practical sim to confirm the changes.”

  Chinois broke from a spirited huddle of several officers surrounded by holos with reports from the planet.

  “How long?”

  Bonju spoke for Stafford.

  “Nine minutes.”

  “Stretching the band, Taron.”

  “I’d rather not risk another disappointment.”

  “Hmmph. Run the sim. Lt. Stafford, if you’re not satisfied by what you see, do not hesitate to inform me.”

  Chinois returned to his company. His interest in something other than returning home piqued Bonju’s curiosity, especially since Hoija spent so much time in his midst.

  Stafford set the holosim into action.

  “What’s going on up there?” Bonju asked.

  “Data dumps from the snakes. The intel must be remarkable coming from a city this size.”

  “I never saw them in action back home before the fleet jumped in. They arrived in the night, I was told. Gone within the hour. The fleet arrived by midday and dropped battalions all over the city.”

  “No doubt to take out the most sensitive locations before a total ground assault. Standard procedure.”

  “Is that what you call it? Mass murder is standard procedure.”

  Stafford’s eyes narrowed and his jaws tightened.

  “We limit kills. The Risen Church wants Converts, not corpses.”

  “Ah. Were you ever an FG?”

  “I was trained as a navigator.”

  “So, you’ve never seen the casualties up close?”

  “The Resistance? The Heretics? The Blasphemers?”

  “In another words, anyone who doesn’t wear the scorpion.”

  “Anyone who doesn’t believe in the true God.”

  “Like my son.”

  “I don’t know him.”

  “He’s being held somewhere on this ship. If the sim fails, the tether fails. Moon will be executed. Not because he’s a resistance fighter or a heretic or a blasphemer. Just because he’s my first-born son.”

  Stafford focused on the sim.

  “Pre-worm sequence is checking out. So far, so good.”

  “Just because he’s my son.”

  “Look, I don’t know your story, but it’s not too late for you or him. You’re well connected.” He glanced toward the perch, where Hoija pointed toward a series of images with great excitement. “Surely, Gen. Taron can speak on your behalf.”

  “She did, before Empress Chastain herself. I was there.”

  “What?” His jaw fell. Whether it was dismay or jealousy, Bonju didn’t care. “You earned an audience?”

  “We did. I assume you’ve never …”

  “No, no. It’s an honor I always thought beyond my reach.”

  “She’s a very old woman, and she has a cold, brittle heart. I’ve never met a more profane creature.”

  The insult dug deep. He dried up any goodwill with Stafford, not that he particularly cared.

  “You’re lying. If you met the Empress, you’d be smitten with her grace.”

  He stifled a laugh.

  Smitten? Really?

  “Believe the propaganda, if it makes you feel better. If it helps you justify the things you don’t see on the ground.”

  “I believe in God and the Holy Risen Church. I believe in our crusade to create a devout humanity. What is swept away was never meant to be.”

  The words rolled off Stafford’s tongue as if drawn from a memory of the moment his life began. The moment of total indoctrination.

  “Interesting. Do all your family wear the scorpion?”

  “With pride and reverence.”

  “You’re from Earth?”

  “I am.”

  “So, you were born of the scorpion, as they say?”

  “I was. Five generations.”

  “And there has never been a fighter, a heretic, or a blasphemer in those five generations?”

  He opened his mouth to refute, but Stafford caught himself. He frowned, as if confused by the question.

  “Not one?” Bonju asked.

  “Some are tested and some fail. If they’re not meant to be, they’re swept away.”

  In a safer place and time, he might have pursued Stafford down a long, deep hole. Instead, Bonju pointed to the sim, which entered its final seconds and appeared to demonstrate a successful tether. According to its projections, the realignment allowed a ship as massive as Ajax to link its graviton infrastructure to the anchor.

  “Some things, I suppose, are meant to be,” Bonju said.

  Stafford refocused and watched the sim to its conclusion. He applauded at the end, drawing attention from the control circle and the Captain’s perch.

  “Capt. Chinois, I believe we have solved the problem.”

  “You have?” Chinois said it with a clear measure of surprise.

  “Yes, sir.”

  “How long to prepare it for the Cromartie?”

  “A few minutes. I’ll send them the code, but they’ll have to reset the interface for that particular cube.”

  “Proceed. Taron, you’re with me. Now.”

  He didn’t expect this turn of events but scaled the stairs. The officers in Chinois’s company seemed eager to hear from Bonju.

  “I promised I’d solve the problem,” Bonju said. “I’d appreciate if you allowed my son to watch the moment with us.”

  Chinois smiled.

  “You’re not here to watch the tether.”

  He pointed to a set of three holos. One, a freeze of the interview with Park Doon; the second, a broadcast from the Global Wave, emanating from another planet; and third, an orbital scan.

  “In reviewing the first batch of data drops from the snakes,” Chinois said, “we made a remarkable discovery. The man you interviewed alluded to an individual named Amayas Knight, the founder of this so-called Splinter Alliance, an economic bond among ten planets. As it turns out, not only was he visiting Pinchon just before our arrival, but he left moments after we appeared.”

  “I know this already. Your point, Captain?”

  “Your man claimed Mr. Knight and this Alliance owned warships, but he had no inkling of their location. We assumed at first he simply jumped away from Hokkaido. But further evidence reveals he traveled extensively across the planet in recent days and held many public engagements. One broadcast said he arrived in a ‘flagship of the future.’ An interesting term, I thought, since the only relevant vid is that of a Scramjet.

  “We searched their global information network for helpful terms and discovered transmissions from other Alliance worlds. Not only did they reference the great ships of the Alliance, but we have vids.”

  Bonju shrugged.

  “So, they’ve built ships. They have interstellar travel. They settled these planets many centuries ago. Are you surprised?”

  “Not the ships, per se. What we all find fascinating is the cargo.”

  He opened vid slices. Large cases of commodities were being off-loaded, with shots of an elongated warship casting a long shadow from high above.

  “Watch this part, Mr. Taron.”

  Civilians on a planet Bonju did not know opened the first cases and posed with Splinters.

  “According to this report, the planet in question is expecting to receive three hundred thousand cubes. Another report confirms a similar delivery elsewhere. During Mr. Knight’s visit in the city of New Seoul yesterday, he said he intended to empower Hokkis by opening their eyes to ‘life beyond the visible stars.’ Another interesting turn of phrase.”

  Bonju felt sick. Amayas knew how the Splinters impacted the fractured universes. Why distribute them en masse?

  He played it cool.

  “OK, so he’s distributing Splinters to Alliance members.”

  “How many did you discover in our universe?”

  “A few dozen.”

  Chinois didn’t need to know he handed over the rest to Royal.

  “If we’re able to return home and the tether is refined, we’ll need far more cubes. In fact, I believe the Empress will see a motherlode as a sign from God.”

  “Wait. You propose we stay on this side and hunt down Splinters? The time and risk involved would be …”

  “Minimal.”

  Chinois expanded the holo of the orbital scan.

  “It’s still here. Mr. Knight’s ‘flagship of the future.’ The configuration matches the one we saw on the other vid.”

  “You intend to take their ship and then what?”

  Hoija interjected:

  “Steal every Splinter onboard.”

  Chinois waved her off.

  “Though I have little regard for Hokkis, I must congratulate Gen. Taron. She put the pieces together first and made the proposal. Not only will we return to herald a new future for the Church, but we’ll have the technology to establish a tether-capable invasion fleet.”

  “Captain, you don’t know that ship’s capability. You might lead us into a battle we can’t win.”

  “You make it sound exciting, Taron. We’ll add your new code to the Battle Group’s worm drives. After we collect the Splinters, we’ll return home as heroes. The Empress might pardon you and your family. She will certainly reward Gen. Taron with the Governorship of Hokkaido.”

  Hoija did not hide her relish. Bonju so wanted to snag the closest sidearm and finish her.

  “You’re making a mistake, Captain.”

  “No. I’m seizing an opportunity. My advisers agree.” He stepped forward to his console. “Attention, Battle Group Demeter. All ships move to Status 1. Prepare for combat configuration.”

  23

  Warship Scylla

  K ARA THOUGHT OF THOSE she left behind. When Amayas Knight said he witnessed an attack on Nantou Global, Kara flashed back to her colleagues in engineering. They tolerated her at first on account of her family name. Only after a time did men like Alli Parnish and Geo Laan respect her skills and value her leadership. Maybe they were eating lunch off-site when the Swarm arrived. Maybe …

  She felt the same simmering anxiety in her fellow Hokkis from the moment they heard the Inventor’s news until their return to Scylla for final prep. They were about to head home, but to what? A nightmare of fire and death? Everything the Talons said about the Swarm focused on their relentless brutality. Maybe this time would be different. If they were scouting, as Amayas said was possible, perhaps they retreated without causing further death. Maybe …

  Po Wynn and Jai Zaan, who fled Hokkaido along with most Green Sun, said little at the meeting in Promise Central Command. They whispered to each other, however, and nodded with enthusiasm when aggressive options arose. Kara didn’t know whether they completed Talon training sufficiently to wear the black, but they advanced beyond being mere assassins. Most important, they must have worried about their own families, who likely thought them dead.

  Ham and Cando peppered Amayas with questions about the Swarm’s disposition, while Talons Force Carmel and Lin Sangoon said nothing. Kara couldn’t imagine what they felt. For most of a year, they believed the Swarm belonged to their past.

  The other native Hokki greeted Kara on the landing bay as the company stepped off Scramjet Horn. Chi Baek hugged Kara as if attending a funeral. She fought off tears.

  “Is it true?” Chi said.

  “We have no reason to doubt him.”

  Amayas Knight exited the Scramjet last. Chi’s eyes ballooned.

  “The man we’ve been searching for. What’s he doing here?”

  “He’s going to remove the block he designed in the worm drive. We’ll be able to jump directly to Hokkaido.”

  “He’s our ally now? I thought he was the enemy.”

  The party of eight pressed forward; Kara and Chi lagged to the side.

  “It’s complicated, Chi. He’ll only discuss strategy for the immediate crisis. We still don’t know much about his activities.”

  “Can we trust him?”

  “We asked the same question about Michael Cooper. It’s a good thing we did, or he might be in control of Scylla right now.”

  Less than an hour had passed since the Aeternans’ failed attempt to capture the warship.

  “I still can’t believe they tried,” Chi said. “If they had boarded, we didn’t have enough people to hold them off.”

  “We got lucky. Ham played a strong hand.”

  “And now I hear we’re going to Hokkaido as a united fleet? Make my head stop spinning.”

  “Ham and Michael agreed to table the incident until we deal with the Swarm. So, we’re going together, but I wouldn’t call us united.”

  “Who’s going to be in charge?”

  Kara laughed, though she knew it wasn’t funny.

  “Great question, Chi. I know who should be, but I’m not sure everyone will agree.”

  “You mean Michael?”

  “Hmm. You haven’t had much contact with the man, have you?”

  “From a distance, mostly.”

  “Probably for the best. He’s never wrong, he loves the sound of his own voice, and he hates being subordinate to anyone. Other than that, he’s a joy to be around.”

  Chi grabbed Kara’s hand.

  “How are you holding up?”

  “I’m not sure. The way we left Hokkaido was a nightmare. So much has changed. Chi, do you realize what this might mean? If we succeed, the mission’s over.”

  “I thought about that. I still remember standing in the Taron library after your wedding. Ryllen Jee was pitching this mission. I remember one of the last things he said. Someday, we might return home as heroes. At the time, I didn’t see how.”

  “I’m still not sure it’s possible. There will be so many questions. Pinchon is not the city we knew. Ya-Li made sure of it. On the bright side, you’ll be able to see your parents.”