“I’m sorry. I couldn’t help myself. You guys don’t know what that shit was like. I thought maybe she’d have a reaction if I showed her, if she smelled the death.”

  “Did she?”

  “Nope.”

  Lucian slapped him on the shoulder.

  “Then you made the right choice, General.”

  “Right or wrong, I made our job a shitload harder. Lucian, let’s open the comms and do a global sweep for Swarm transponders.”

  “When we find them?”

  Royal thought of the giant insignia of the Holy Risen Church on the shuttle’s port bulwark.

  “We’re gonna do something really stupid.”

  PART THREE

  HOKKAIDO

  “The chief contributing factor to fear is the ancient and misconstrued concept of linear time. When humans perceive their time to be ‘running out,’ they exaggerate their passions. If only they understood the value of distributing these passions throughout their lives. What magic might follow.”

  -Dr. Simone Herod

  “Lessons from the War of the Nine”

  26

  K ARA CAUGHT HER BREATH. She had not seen Hokkaido like this since she was eight. The fleet jumped out of worm a hundred kilometers south of the Kye-Do rings on a parallel course. When she was little, Kara floated amid the acenomite rocks in a transparent tube controlled by a tractor beam, a special gift from her parents. It happened when life was filled with happiness and excess, when she didn’t mind her brothers’ playful teasing or her mother’s strict teachings about proper etiquette and a woman’s role in the patriarchy.

  Kara was a princess, oblivious to the hard truths.

  At that time, the Chancellors dominated the skies in their Ark Carriers, and hundreds of their mining operations excavated raw materials from the rocks, only a portion of which benefitted Hokkaido. They also carried on a quiet, systematic poisoning of the continent with the blessing of families like hers. They set themselves up to replace the Chancellors as power brokers in the secret new Alliance.

  Kara might have remained oblivious if not for her brother Lang, who whispered in her ear.

  “There’s a war coming,” he told her during the new year celebration of Sanhae. “Wars need soldiers. Kara, they’re going to burn it all.”

  She always wondered: Did Lang know they were going to kill him?

  “Keep a close eye,” he said. “Be a soldier.”

  Kara hoped he would be proud of her. Though she was not armed for combat, she returned with many who were. They intended to rid Hokkaido of an unexpected enemy and change the narrative begun by the Chancellors and continued by the elites of The Lagos.

  No more secrets after today.

  She stepped back and watched her fiancé take command of the fleet. Cando sat in the captain’s chair, Ham at his side. Paul Ochoba confirmed all ships completed the jump and began scanning the planet for Swarm vessels. Hiro Parke opened comms to the fleet.

  “This is Col. Cando Aleksanyan. I am assuming command until the threat has been neutralized. All comm officers, open the window Scylla has pinged. Throw up the board to your respective captains. We will effectively act as one bridge.”

  Hiro elevated the responses from each ship off his console and threw the holos to Cando, who grabbed them mid-flight. The ones he did not expand, he handed off to Ham. A board of five holos – each featuring the face of a captain – hovered like wallpaper. All the faces were young, tattooed, and unfamiliar except Michael, whose stoic glare showed dissatisfaction with his subordinate role. By Michael’s side, Amayas Knight smiled.

  “Colonel, please open a channel to Hermes,” the Inventor said. “I’m sure they’re anxious to hear from us.”

  “We will, pending our tactical analysis. All captains, I’m opening your board to Scylla’s planetary survey data. You’ll see the enemy disposition as soon as we do.”

  The fleet entered orbit five thousand kilometers from Hermes’s last reported position, geosynchronous above The Lagos. The first few seconds proved as stomach-twisting as Scylla’s arrival at Arakaat Shipyards on Euphrates. Once again, a warship was not where they expected it to be.

  This time, however, tense words turned to relieved sighs when they spotted Hermes on the move – still in orbit, but now a thousand kilometers in the opposite direction and accelerating.

  “What is he doing?” Ham asked before Cando pointed out new data.

  The graphic silhouette showed two unfamiliar vessels ascending from low orbit toward Hermes. Cando turned to Paul.

  “Can you detect their transponders?”

  “One scrambled pattern. There’s nothing like it in Scylla’s registry. You know what this is, Colonel. We’ve seen it before.”

  Cando sighed, as if he was hoping to hear different but wasn’t surprised in the least.

  “Swarm battle cruisers use a shield that disguises their numbers when they’re being tracked across a star system. Orzed never cracked it. It’s hard to carry out an attack, even by wormhole, when you don’t know your enemy’s size and disposition.”

  “They’re on attack vector,” Amayas said. “Contact Hermes.”

  “Who did you leave in charge?”

  “His name is Mehta Jarrod. He’s not well equipped for a captaincy. I told him to avoid aggression unless fired upon.”

  “Appears to be following orders. Why did you leave him exposed?”

  “We positioned Bluebird drones in low orbit. I needed him to assess the data in real time while I sought help.”

  “Could be useful, assuming their ears penetrated the armor. Hiro, can we speak to him without risk of being intercepted? I doubt they’ve seen us.”

  “We should be good. The cruisers haven’t been here long enough to translate our comm protocols.”

  “Don’t be so sure. They found Hermes and decided to make a pre-emptive strike.”

  Amayas jumped in again.

  “You’ll be safe. Hiro, bypass the primary comm matrix and drop four levels until you see INT/99. Trigger it.”

  “What’s the function?” Cando asked.

  “It’s similar to what we’re doing now, a unified bridge, except the ping is a language unique to my three warships.”

  Cando and Ham shared a disquieting glance. Hiro shrugged.

  “You might have told us about this little end-run before, Inventor. Go ahead, Hiro. Ping Hermes.”

  Prolonged silence followed. The silhouettes showed the Swarm cruisers making a marginal gain on Hermes.

  “Hiro, can you confirm they received the ping?”

  “Yes, Colonel. They know we’re calling.”

  “If I may,” the Inventor said. “There are only five men onboard. They might believe it’s an enemy trick. If I was to speak to them …”

  “Thank you, Amayas. I’ll take it from here. Attention, Hermes. This is Col. Cando Aleksanyan of the warship Scylla. We have arrived along with Amayas Knight and a fleet of ships from Aeterna. We are tracking your retreat from two enemy vessels. Open your comm channel to our ping.”

  A distinctive whoosh dominated the open channel, like a gentle breeze at night. A short crackle followed, then a hesitant voice.

  “I … apologize. I apologize for the delay, Colonel. We have been sorting through our options. You have come in time to help us.”

  “Who’s speaking?”

  “Oh. Yes, sir. This is Mehta Jarrod. The Inventor is there?”

  “He is, but on another ship. He can hear your voice. Mehta, have the enemy ships tried to communicate?”

  “Yes. They demanded we surrender Hermes or be destroyed.”

  “Mehta, do you know how to use the weapons array?”

  “We are studying the targeting system now.”

  Amayas said, “Guide him through it, Colonel. The particle missiles will vaporize both Swarm ships.”

  Cando turned to Ham, who nodded in agreement. However, Cando shared a frown with his Talon colleagues. Kara saw a surprising hesitation, but Hiro and Paul seemed to be on the same page as Cando, who scratched his chin.

  “Something is off. Mehta, accelerate to match their speed then wait for further instructions.”

  “What’s the plan?” Michael asked. “He can wipe out those fuckers.”

  Cando shook his head.

  “It’s never that simple with the Swarm. If a ship has not engaged them in combat, they’ll demand a surrender. If there’s no response, they knock out engines. They prefer to leave the ship intact to retrofit for their own fleet. This pursuit makes no sense. Hermes was sitting in orbit, posing no threat. They’re alone in this universe. Inventor, you said the Swarm was holding position above Pinchon when you left?”

  “Yes.”

  Ham expanded a new window drawn from the Bluebird drones. Kara saw the silhouette of a third ship above the city and gulped.

  “Interesting,” Cando said. “I think I know this tactic. Mehta, have you matched speed?”

  “Yes, Colonel.”

  The pursuing vessels increased velocity less than five percent.

  “Mehta, continue as you are, but do not target your weapons.”

  “Understood.”

  Michael rapped on his armrest.

  “What the hell are you doing?”

  “If Hermes fires a volley of particle missiles, it’s unlikely they’ll do any damage. Battle cruisers are equipped with a countermeasure called a Crust. It’s a carpet of magnetic hunter bombs designed to disrupt energy weapons. They will activate the Crust if Hermes targets even its surface cannons. Look, it’s possible a missile might penetrate and take one out of those ships, but odds are not good from that distance. Every additional second the hunters have to track incoming fire, the less chance anything gets through.”

  Hiro added: “Swarm ships are only vulnerable in close quarters.”

  “Which makes things damn hairy for the good guys.”

  “That’s why they’re hanging back,” Ham said.

  “Perhaps. But I don’t think …”

  Mehta Jarrod interrupted.

  “Colonel, we do not believe they will destroy us.”

  “Why?”

  “The Bluebirds heard orders from their flagship, the Ajax. They are aware of our special cargo. They want to confiscate it.”

  “What is your cargo?”

  Before Mehta answered, Amayas jumped in.

  “Colonel, I recommend we order Mehta to jump Hermes out of the system. These ships will not be able to pursue.”

  “No. If their target disappears then they see us, they’ll have reason to jump. If we lose them, our problem grows. Swarm are like moths. They’re drawn to the light. Mehta, what is your cargo?”

  “Splinters.”

  Though all eyes widened, Kara didn’t find the answer shocking. The next ones, however, send a cold shiver through her body.

  “How many?”

  “Sixty thousand.”

  “Your Bluebirds have been eavesdropping, Mehta. Why do the Swarm want the Splinters?”

  “They believe this will allow a large fleet to tether successfully between the Alpha and Beta universes.”

  The conversation ground to a full stop. All eyes turned to Amayas.

  “Explain yourself, Inventor,” Cando said. “Tether? What is he talking about?”

  Kara saw the Inventor turn pale. The last time they talked, she suspected he was afraid of something. Was this it?

  “It’s a method of two-way travel across the divide,” Amayas said. “Splinters can facilitate it. Colonel, I …”

  “The fuck?” Michael said. “That’s what you’ve been up to all these years? You piece of shit.”

  “Calm down,” Cando said. “Amayas, you’ve been dropping huge quantities of Splinters on Alliance worlds. Is this why?”

  “No. Of course not. It’s like I said to you earlier, I am creating a defense to stop the Swarm from spreading to our universe. It will take too long to explain now. Hermes needs to jump away.”

  Mehta said: “They have repeated their demand. The captain of Ajax says we have two minutes to comply, or he will destroy Hermes."

  “Don’t reply, Mehta. He won’t follow through. He believes the Splinters are a critical military asset. If he loses patience, he’ll go for the engine, not the entire ship. What is the captain’s name?”

  “Bradley Chinois.”

  “He leads the Battle Group?”

  “Yes. The Battle Group Demeter. The other ships are the Stilton, which is also pursuing, and the Cromartie.”

  Cando leaned over to Ham, and they whispered.

  “Amayas, you said the other warship would be arriving behind us. How much longer do you expect?”

  “Charybdis is likely twenty to thirty minutes out. She had a much longer journey.”

  “Hmm. Something else you’ll need to explain later. All right, here’s how we’re going to play it. Mehta, we’ll send you a course correction. You’ll break orbit and gradually accelerate to full system speed. You’ll remain within Hokkaido’s gravity well. I don’t want them to know you have worm capability.”

  Cando nodded to Paul, who plotted the new course and pinged it to Hermes. Cando turned his attention to the fleet.

  “Our best bet to taking out Ajax and Stilton is while they remain close to the planet. Swarm ships are far more agile in deep space. If we plot a new worm course and arrive effectively on top of them, we can open fire quickly enough to penetrate the Crust before it has time to react. However, the ships are two hundred kilometers apart. This is standard procedure to guard against exactly what we’ll try to do.”

  “Should we consider another strategy?” Ham said.

  “We’ll split the fleet. Scylla will go after Ajax. The AN ships will throw everything they have against Stilton.”

  “Four against one,” Michael said. “I’m down with those odds.”

  “These ships are hard to kill, Michael. The Crust deflects most weapons, but the ship’s armor is designed to repel nuclear bombardment. You’ll weaken it. Good aim might cripple essential systems. Your primary target will be a railgun turret amidships. If you allow it to get off a couple of shots, you’ll lose a ship.”

  “We’ve been running our countermeasures through the ringer for years. That shit ain’t doing us dirty.”

  “Once we take out Ajax, we’ll swing around to target Stilton. By that time, the Crust should be blistered enough to allow a volley of particle missiles through. I would have preferred to do this with Charybdis, but we can’t wait that long.”

  Kara couldn’t stay silent.

  “Cando, what about the ship over Pinchon? What will it do when it sees the others under attack?”

  “That’s my biggest worry. Swarm love to use innocent civilians as negotiating tools. As in, ‘surrender your ship or we’ll kill the ten thousand people in our line of fire.’ Mehta, has this Capt. Chinois made a threat against the city of Pinchon?”

  “Not yet, Colonel. I believe they left the other ship behind to test the tether system.”

  “Explain, Mehta.”

  “They tried earlier to leave but failed. They are updating their navigation systems with a new program.”

  “Are you saying they arrived without the ability to return home?”

  “I am not sure, but I know they are very frustrated and angry with the man who invented their program.”

  “Where he is?”

  “Currently onboard Ajax. Tell Amayas it is Bonju Taron. His son is also there.”

  Taron.

  Was it possible? Was this the man Ryllen Jee spoke of when he confessed to his treasonous role in the plot with Ya-Li? Ryllen said Ya-Li’s Splinter counterpart, a man of the same name, orchestrated Ryllen’s escape from the Swarm universe. She didn’t recall him say ‘Bonju,’ but he confessed many months ago. He was later sentenced to exile after plotting to destroy Scylla and everyone onboard.

  “Amayas, what do you know of this?” Cando asked. “We’re running short on time.”

  “I have not spoken to Bonju in many years. He devised a method of one-way, trans-universal travel using a Splinter in a ship’s nav. Colonel, I spoke earlier of an agent of mine working in the Beta universe, trying to ward off the threat. That man knew Bonju and his son had crossed with these ships. He made me promise not to hurt them.”

  “Why? And who is this agent?”

  “He owes Bonju a debt. He is attempting to save the man’s family and reunite them on this side, free of the Swarm.”

  “I assume your agent has the ability to tether?”

  Kara saw Amayas shade his eyes. He didn’t want to say more. She sensed what was coming.

  “Yes. Royal has a unique talent.”

  “Who?”

  “You knew him as Ryllen.”

  Events at Euphrates had confirmed Ryllen was alive and working in some capacity with Amayas. Yet hearing the name of this man who was once a key part of all their lives sent a shudder through the Scylla command crew.

  “Amayas, where is Ryllen now?”

  “I haven’t heard from Royal since he left for his mission. I last spoke with him before I arrived on Aeterna.”

  Michael threw up his hands.

  “What the hell are we talking about?” He swung around to his right. “Col. Woolsey, is that the immortal who …?”

  “Yes, Minister.” Exeter’s voice was faint.

  Cando told everyone to be quiet.

  “Amayas, we can’t be bothered by Ryllen or Royal, whatever he’s calling himself. If the man who invented the tether is onboard Ajax, we have all the more reason to destroy that ship. I want to avoid collateral casualties if at all possible, but we’ll have to risk Cromartie’s response and hope they don’t fire on the city. Once we take out Ajax and Stilton, we go for Cromartie.”

  Mehta announced:

  “Capt. Chinois said time is up. Surrender now or be destroyed.”

  The silhouettes showed the Swarm vessels matching speed.

  “Stay the course, Mehta. Paul, at their current velocity, how closely can you pinpoint rendezvous coordinates?”

  “Here it is, assuming they hold velocity.”

  A new holo opened showing a graphic representation of their projected course.

  “We’ll meet them here and here,” Cando said, punching at the holo. “Enter the GPNM coordinates. AN fleet, prepare all systems for combat. Hold weapons until five seconds before we jump, then activate your guns. The instant you leave worm, verify your target and open fire. If you hesitate, Stilton will form its Crust.”